Year 2: The Chamber of Delightful Coolness
by Silvermoon42
Summary: Hitsugaya Toshiro faces his second year at Hogwarts along with the Golden Trio. Soul Society declares Voldemort a threat, and so he is to kill the Dark Lord once and for all. This is the sequel to Year 1: The Utterly Despicable Stone.
1. Chapter 1

**As promised, here is the second in a string of crossovers between Harry Potter and Bleach. I hope that I have a good response to this; I really like making these.**

"Talking" _Thinking "Thinking to-from zanpakuto"_ **"Talking in Japanese"**

 **Disclaimer: All rights for Bleach/Harry Potter go to their respective owners.**

 **On with the story!**

* * *

 _*Previously on Year 1: The Utterly Despicable Stone*_

 _The Head-Captain was filling out papers in his office when he heard a knock. He called for the person to come in, as he knew who it was. "Captain Hitsugaya, thank you for coming on such short notice."_

 _"It is no problem," the child-Captain replied, bowing. The Head-Captain noticed that the owl was on his left shoulder. It surveyed him with coal gray eyes._

 _Hitsugaya seemed to be dealing better with the heat this summer. He hadn't heard as many horror stories from the tenth. Perhaps it was the field of ice that he had created. In any case, it seemed to be doing him good._

 _"I called you here because I have a mission for you."_

 _"Again?" The Head-Captain was sure that the question surprised even the little Captain, as the boy looked down at the floor. The Head-Captain nodded._

 _"Only you can do this mission."_

 _He saw Hitsugaya's eyebrows draw together. "What is it?"_

 _The Head-Captain took a deep breath. If Hitsugaya was going to get angry, it was now. "It is long...back to England."_

 _Hitsugaya's eye twitched. The Head-Captain found that quite amusing, although he didn't show it. "May I ask why I am going back?"_

 _This was going better than he thought it would. "We have reviewed your reports, and determined that, while the wizarding world as a whole is not a threat to us, this one 'Dark Lord', also known as Voldemort,_ is _a threat. You are to aide the wizards and witches for as long as it takes to defeat him."_

 _Again Hitsugaya's eye twitched. Clearly the little Captain was annoyed, but was keeping it under control. "And this means going back to Hogwarts as a student?"_

 _The Head-Captain nodded._

 _Hitsugaya took a breath. "Yes, sir." The boy must not have known it, but he sounded a little sulky there. Being in a school full of children must have rubbed off on him. The Head-Captain felt the corners of his mouth twitch up in a gentle smile. Perhaps this mission would do him good._

 _"You will be getting a letter from the school soon. You are to leave the morning after you receive it and gather all your things for your second year. Go to Captain Kurotshuchi - he will help you prepare."_

 _"Yes, sir."_

 _"That is all. Oh, try to have fun."_

 _Twitch. "Yes, sir."_

 _The Head-Captain watched him exit his office. Yes, the mission would do him good._

* * *

As Toshiro left the office, he was doing everything he could to keep himself from stomping away. It just wasn't dignified of a Shinigami Captain.

He followed the Head-Captain's orders and headed to the twelfth. He was met outside the gates by Nemu. "Follow me," she said, turning and leading the way into the horror that was the twelfth. Toshiro was apprehensive, but followed.

They wound through the dark corridors of the research facility until they reached the Captain's office. Toshiro looked around warily before stepping in. He wasn't about to be caught in some experiment with the creepy Captain of the twelfth.

Said Captain was standing by a metal table with a body on it. And not just any body. No, this was Toshiro's gigai. "What are you doing to it?" Toshiro asked, going up to the table, more than a little concerned. It didn't look any different, but there was no telling what Mayuri had been doing. It could self-destruct if someone touched it, or worse.

"Nothing," Mayuri snapped. "I was specifically ordered not to tamper with it - yet."

That word did nothing to calm the youngest Captain.

"Yet?"

"You are playing as a child. It would be suspicious to the others if you never age. So, starting next year, I am to make your gigai look like it is aging proportional to how a human child should."

"But in my seventh year, it'll be much taller than I actually am. That'll make it awkward to use it." He hated saying this, but it was true. He wasn't going to grow to a teenager in the next six years, but if the gigai had to be adjusted...

"You'll just have to get used to it. I just have to make it look older. It's not my problem!" Mayuri grumbled, and went to a table next to the wall. "Here. Make this so it's bigger on the inside."

Toshiro gave him a strange look but drew his wand from his tabi. The scientist was staring at the wand with fascination as he preformed the spell, then looked at the small bag. It was completely black with his initials, HT, in silver. Mayuri had already preformed a (very) thorough series of tests on his wand, but the Captain always seemed to want to do more. Toshiro was worried that he'd destroy it if he did any more, however, and so had gotten it back as soon as he could. He'd bought all the books for all seven years of Hogwarts, and had studied them over the summer. What could he say? He got bored, and it was interesting reading.

"Why did you want that?"

"The Head-Captain ordered me to make fake money for you to use in the wizarding world." He said these last two words as if they were filthy. "Come."

He was led to another room, which was literally _filled_ with Galleons, Knuts, and Sickles. "How'd you get all of these?" Toshiro asked. If he were anyone else, he'd be gaping at the sheer amount of the coins.

"Made them," Mayuri said proudly. "They're all fake - not that those idiot wizards will be able to tell the difference. Put all of them in the bag. I want to see if it'll really work."

It would have taken forever if he'd tried to shovel them all into the bag by hand, so Toshiro enchanted them to rise up and flow in. It still took several minutes, but the scientist didn't seem to mind. He watched every coin disappear with very focused eyes.

It made Toshiro uncomfortable.

When all the coins were tucked into the bag, Mayuri led him back to where his gigai was. "Sadly, I was not able to do any upgrades to your gigai," Mayuri said, sounding as if this was a great tragedy. "It is the same as the last time you used it. Take it back to your division now; if I am not able to preform experiments on it, then I do not want it here."

And so Toshiro walked back to his division in his gigai. It was easier than carrying it. After he dropped it off in his quarters, he went back to the field of ice and continued his paperwork.

Toshiro was in the middle of signing his name when a heavy envelope dropped right in the middle of his work, causing him to badly smear it. Toshiro cursed, then glared at the large brown owl that was circling his head. It hooted once then flew out and away. Still grumbling, Toshiro opened it. It was almost the same as last year, with a welcoming letter and a list of equipment that he would need. Toshiro raised an eyebrow upon seeing the list of books.

 _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_ by Miranda Goshawk  
 _Break with a Banshee_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
 _Gadding with Ghouls_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
 _Holidays with Hags_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
 _Travels with Trolls_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
 _Wanderings with Werewolves_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
 _Year with the Yeti_ by Gilderoy Lockhart

Toshiro was sick of the man before he'd even met him.

* * *

"Captain, I'm going to miss you!"

Toshiro was squished into another hug by Rangiku, and waited impatiently for her to release him. When she finally did, he gasped for breath and glared at her. "When are you going to stop doing that?"

"Never!"

"Urgh."

"Now, do you have everything? Is it all packed?" His Vice-Captain started rambling, about whether his packing skills were adequate, if he'd remembered to bring his brush (because she wasn't even bothering to deny the fact that she was going to send him paperwork), if he brought his wand, if he had money, if he knew where to go, yap yap yap. Honestly, he started to tune her out without even realizing it, and was fiddling with his soul phone when she hugged him again.

"Come on! Would you at _least_ give me warning before you try to kill me?!"

"They're not going to kill you Captain!" She grinned. "Anyway, do you have everything?"

"Yes, for the last time, yes, I have everything."

"It was just a question."

Toshiro sighed. "I will see you when I come home for the holidays. Until then, I've told the bars not to serve you alcohol except for the last day of every month."

"Captain!"

"The whole division didn't become alcoholics when you were in charge, so don't break your streak. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." He turned to head into the Senkaimon, then looked back. "Good-bye, Matsumoto."

"Good-bye, Captain. Be safe." He nodded and disappeared. Rangiku watched him go, then wondered if he'd been lying. Had he really gone around to _all_ the bars? With a plan in mind and a smirk, Rangiku headed off.

* * *

The trip through the Precipice World was short. Toshiro followed the Hell Butterfly as it led him through. He was already wearing his gigai, and had his shrunken trunk in his pocket along with the bag of money. His wand was stuck in his boot, like last year. Athena was sitting unhappily in her cage. She didn't like being cooped up.

And, just like last time, he came out in a deserted alley. He made his way out, scowling at the humid air, the noise, the crowd, the traffic, practically everything.

 _"Calm down, Master,"_ his zanpakuto spirit Hyourinmaru said in his deep rumble. _"Soon you will be at school. It is peaceful there."_

 _"Relatively peaceful,"_ Toshiro answered mentally, scoffing. _"That dark wizard didn't make things all that pleasant."_

 _"What are the chances of something happening this year?"_

Toshiro had to admit he was right. In all likelihood, this year would be calm.

Now that he knew what to look for, the Leaky Cauldron was much easier to find. He stood for a moment outside, watching as the 'Muggles' - the non-magical humans - walked right past it. He wondered what it looked like to them when someone went in. Did it look like they just disappeared? Or were just incapable of seeing them at all?

When he went in, it was just as dark and dingy as before. But this time he got a better reception. Tom, the bartender, looked over and grinned, recognizing him. "Tea, Hitsugaya?"

Toshiro nodded, strangely pleased that he'd remembered his name and what he ordered. With the amount of people coming through, it was a wonder that he could remember it. "Not at this moment, thank you. I would like a room, however."

"Sure. Same one as before." Toshiro paid and the bartender slid a key to him across the counter.

Tom had taken a while to warm up to him, but once he had, they had gotten along well enough. He understood that the boy didn't like to talk much, but would if he had questions. He'd been happy to answer all of Toshiro's questions, even as numerous as they had been.

Toshiro put away his things - after making his trunk the correct size - in his room, left and locked it, and headed through the pub to the brick wall behind. He pulled out his wand and tapped the bricks in the correct order, watching as they folded away to reveal Diagon Alley. It was just as crowded, noisy, and bright as before. With a sigh, he headed in.

He didn't need new robes, as neither he nor his gigai had grown, but he did need some random new supplies. So, for the next hour or so, he traveled around and gathered his things. The first time he bought something, he watched the shopkeeper intently to see if she noticed that the coins were fake. She didn't. He breathed a sigh of relief and silently thanked the twelfth. Then he paused. Thanking the twelfth was something he'd never done before.

Luckily his new bigger-on-the-inside bag didn't seem to run out of room, so he could fit everything he bought into there. He was relieved, as it hardly weighed anything, and he could put it into his pocket.

"Hitsugaya! Hey - Hitsugaya!" The calls got his attention, and he looked around before seeing a waving hand getting closer and closer. He paused out of the crowd and waited. Soon he could see that the hand belonged to a bushy, brown haired witch.

"Granger," he greeted her. He was planning on leaving it at that, but she insisted on hugging him.

Now, Toshiro had become somewhat traumatized by Rangiku's hugs, so he wasn't a big fan of them. This, however, was much better. His face wasn't being shoved between two giant assets. Hermione was still taller than him, but not overwhelmingly so.

After he awkwardly patted her on the back, she pulled away. "Oh, it's so good to see you again! I tried writing, but - how come you never wrote?"

Toshiro had to come up with an excuse on the spot. Lucky he had practice doing so. "I live in Japan. Athena would never make it across the ocean. And I do not know your address."

"Oh." She seemed to realize this. "Right. I guess that would be a problem. No matter! I'll tell you it for next year! Do you have everything?"

He blinked, doing his best to keep up with her quick pace. "N-no. I still have to get my books."

He was puzzled to see her grimace. "Well, you'd better get in line soon. It's all the way out the door."

"Why?"

She gestured at the window. Inside was pasted a poster reading:

GILDEROY LOCKHART

will be signing copies of his autobiography

MAGICAL ME

today 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.

"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed, practically bouncing. Toshiro blinked. She had reminded him of Momo, for a split second. "I mean, he's written almost the whole book list!"

Toshiro sighed. "I'll just come back later. I have no need to get my schoolbooks signed by a prattling man."

"How do you know he prattles?"

"He's written six books, and those are just the textbooks!"

"Sure, but he's amazing! He's done practically everything!"

Toshiro shrugged followed Hermione as she pushed her way through the crowd. "Where are you going?"

"I see Hagrid. Hagrid! Hagrid! Over here!"

Sure enough, the half-giant was about a foot taller than the rest of the milling wizards and witches, and very easy to see. He heard Hermione's cry and waved a hand. Hermione set to pushing through the crowd, but found that she couldn't get past two wizards just chatting in the middle of the road. Toshiro frowned and worked his way in front of Hermione with a muttered, "I'll do it."

He knew from last year that most witches and wizards had enough reiatsu to see him, so they should be the same as his subordinates when he raised it. That was to say: terrified.

Standing in front of them, he noticed that they were more than double his height. That get him into an even worse mood, and when he raised his spiritual pressure, it had a tinge of anger to it. The wizards immediately noticed the pressure pushing them down, and instinctively hurried to get away. With a satisfied smirk, Toshiro turned back to see Hermione was panting, her hands on her knees.

"Sorry," Toshiro apologized, elbowing several people to get through. "It'll pass in a moment."

"What was that?" She took a deep breath, still panting.

"I..." Toshiro didn't know how to explain it without revealing too much, but he was saved by the arrival of a very dirty Harry.

"Harry!" Hermione greeted The-Boy-Who-Lived much the same way she had Toshiro. "What happened to your glasses? Hello, Hagrid - Oh, it's _wonderful_ to see you two again - Are you coming to Gringotts, Harry?"

Toshiro let out a soft breath, wondering if she had always talked this much. "Hello, Potter. Hello - what is your last name, Hagrid?"

"Eh? Oh, tha' is my las' name." Hagrid looked down at Toshiro with warm black eyes. Toshiro felt himself blush.

"Sorry. It is good to meet again, Hagrid."

"Yeh, it is. How are yeh?"

"I am well. Summer was very hot, however."

"Yeh, it is, isn' it?"

They turned back to the two children present. Harry looked at Toshiro. "Hey, To - sorry. I know you like to be called by your last name."

"Yes." He was going to say more, but the arrival of five more people interrupted him.

"Harry," a very red-headed man panted. "We _hoped_ you'd only gone one grate too far..." He wiped sweat off his bald patch. "Molly's frantic - she's coming now-"

"Where'd you come out?" asked a familiar boy. Ron. And behind him stood another pair of lanky red-heads. They must be Weasleys.

He tuned back in when he was knocked aside by a plump woman dragging yet another red-head. "Oh, Harry - oh, my dear - you could have been _anywhere_ -" She pulled a clothes brush from a large purse and started sweeping the startled boy off. Toshiro picked himself up off the ground and fixed the woman with a glare. Not that she noticed. She was too busy fussing over Harry.

Hagrid quickly excused himself and started making his way through the crowd, and the entire group started chattering. Harry turned to Ron and Hermione, the Weasleys seemed to be having a family meeting, and Toshiro felt very much alone. _I'm obviously not needed here._ He turned to slip away when a hand caught his arm.

Instincts and training kicked in before he could make a rational thought.

He twisted roughly away from the hand, landing in a crouch a couple feet away with his hand positioned to grab a nonexistent Hyourinmaru. Then he realized what happened.

Mrs. Weasley still had a hand extended, a baffled expression on her face. The twins - Fred and George - were laughing like complete morons; Ron, Harry, and Hermione were mixed amusement and sympathy; and the male head Weasley was looking away into the crowd and hadn't noticed a thing. Toshiro slowly relaxed, feeling like an idiot.

"Apologies," he said, consciously making his Japanese accent thicker than it normally was. "I was not expecting that."

"It's...alright..." Mrs. Weasley said, dropping her hand. Toshiro moved closer so he wasn't in the crowd. "I was just - weren't you with Hermione earlier?"

"Yeah, this is Toshiro Hitsugaya," Hermione jumped in. "He's a friend from Hogwarts."

Mrs. Weasley covered her mouth. "Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry for startling you! I didn't know!"

"It is alright." Toshiro held up a hand and let his thick Japanese accent fall. "I am not offended. I just - don't like to be touched."

"Got that right," Ron snickered. "You should have been there when Hermione first tried to hug him!"

All the current Gryffindors winced at the memory. Toshiro briefly looked away. "Yes, that was not a highlight of the year."

Mrs. Weasley spoke again after a moment. "In any case, any friend of Ron's is a friend of mine. I am Molly Weasley, and that's my husband, Arthur, this is Fred and George, and of course you already know Ron."

Said Weasleys waved when their names were called. Mr. Weasley jumped and looked around.

"Oh, hello," he said, noticing Toshiro for the first time. "Who are you?"

Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes.

* * *

 **Well, that's it for the first chapter! How was it? Reviews are always welcome!**

 **So, I know I always update on Tuesdays and Fridays, so I'm going back to that later. I will update on Friday, and then again on next Tuesday. Sorry. I actually forgot what day I usually updated on, and realized my mistake after I posted Chapter 11 of Year 1: The Utterly Despicable Stone. Whoops.**

 **The terror of Lockhart next chapter. Oh, how I hate his character.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I forgot to say this last time, but this takes place after the Winter War in Bleach and during the second book/movie for Harry Potter. Spoilers. You have been warned.**

 **A huge shout-out to Dark Serpent Cat! Thanks so much for your help; I really appreciate it!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights for Bleach/Harry Potter go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Toshiro followed the gaggle of Weasleys, Harry, and Ron to the Gringotts bank. It was a massive stone affair, with a short poem engraved above the entrance. It warned thieves not to steal from this place.

Yes, because every other bank in the world welcomed thieves.

Inside, he was met with a long room, two counters running parallel to the walls, and tiny people working behind them. Well, goblins, as Hermione explained. Not people. They were tiny - even shorter than Toshiro. He was strangely pleased with that.

Hermione introduced them to her parents, two Muggles. Mr. Weasley in particular seemed enthusiastic to meet them, and immediately pointed out the fact that they were changing their pounds into wizarding money. The Weasleys and Harry left to go withdraw some money, and Toshiro went with them to see what the bank was like. When they reached the method of transportation, Toshiro looked it over critically before cautiously climbing in. They were in a goblin-driven cart that sped along miniature rails through the bank's underground tunnels. They moved with incredible speed, and Toshiro found himself clutching the edges of the cart with a white-knuckled grip. He didn't like to not be in control of something moving this fast.

They arrived at the Weasley's vault first. It was pitifully empty, with just a few silver Sickles and one golden Galleon inside. Toshiro realized that this quite large family was very poor. He almost felt sorry for them, if not for the fact that when they died, they might go to a part of the Rukongai that was even worse.

Harry, on the other hand, was filthy rich. His vault was opened and a veritable mountain of coins gleamed from the inside. Harry quickly gathered some up - awkwardly - Toshiro noticed, and then they faced another cart ride back.

"Do you need to get some money, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked Toshiro. He shook his head.

"No, I already have some."

Once the cart safely deposited them where they started, Toshiro was the first one off. He gave a last glare to the metal death-trap, and walked away with as much pride as he could muster.

* * *

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Toshiro set out on their own after Mrs. Weasley released them, saying that they would meet at the bookstore in an hour. The first thing the four did was to get ice cream. Toshiro stared down at his - sherbet with sprinkles - and scowled. He didn't like candy. Candy was for children.

 _"You are pretending to be a child, Master,"_ Hyourinmaru said, amusement tinging his voice. _"You should eat it to keep up appearances."_

Toshiro glanced ahead to see the trio laughing, then scowled down at his ice cream some more. _"They already know I'm not like other children. I have made that painfully obvious. I do not even know why Potter insisted on buying me this. Now I am in his debt."_ Toshiro suddenly came to a conclusion. _"So_ that's _why! He wants me to owe him a favor! Sneaky bastard..."_

 _"It is just a treat, Master; I don't think the boy has any ulterior motives."_ Hyourinmaru was silent for a minute, and when he spoke again, he sounded cautious. _"Instead of thinking of the frozen liquid as something for children, think of it as something that will help you cool down. You've already gotten much grumpier and you haven't even been away from the ice for long."_

Toshiro considered his words, and tilted his hand so the melting cream wouldn't drip onto him. _"Perhaps you are right."_

Hyourinmaru hummed happily.

 _"You know just what to say to get me to do anything,"_ Toshiro sighed, and licked the ice cream. It actually tasted...terrible. Hyourinmaru chuckled as Toshiro choked it down, not wanting to appear rude. _"I don't like sherbet,"_ Toshiro said.

* * *

They went around to many shops that day. Hermione seemed most interested in the older items, and Ron and Harry plastered themselves against a window along with many other children. Toshiro glanced in curiously, and saw that they were staring at a broom.

"I don't understand what is so fascinating about a game where you hurtle through the air on cleaning instruments," Toshiro remarked to Hermione as they stood off to the side. "There are balls trying to kill you, and the little gold one that Potter follows is worth so many points that there really is no point to anyone else on the team. In fact, it would make much more sense if everyone on the team was looking for it, instead of just one person."

Hermione shrugged. "It's like soccer (1) is for the Americans. People get really excited over it, pick favorite teams, players...really it's just a way for people to get together and have fun."

"I have been to the American's soccer games. They drink, gamble, fight, and get _too_ entrenched in the success of their team and the failure of their rivals. I see nothing appealing about it."

"People gather to watch the games together, and they support their teams. It's entertainment, and I don't really think they're meant to be taken so heavily."

Toshiro grunted, and when their patience finally wore out, they dragged the boys away from the window, Toshiro practically carrying Ron.

They met the Weasley twins stocking up in a joke supply store, muttering about future plans. Toshiro swore he heard something about Snape, toilet seats, and 'Where do they keep the explosives?'

Soon, however, their allotted hour passed, and they made their way back to the busy bookstore. People were still fighting to get in, and there was one miserable-looking wizard out front trying - and failing - to maintain order. The four finally managed to push their way through the crowd and find the Weasley clan and Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

The bookstore was filled to the brim with people all shoving and shouting, and Toshiro was constantly being squished. He was so small that people didn't take notice of him, and he was constantly stumbling to keep his balance. Once, when a witch elbowed him in the ribs, he hissed out a string of angry Japanese. No one cared that the furious little Captain was forcibly keeping his spirit energy down, or that his eyes were glowing with a murderous light. If they weren't careful, he was liable to snap. And soon.

Just as he found the Weasleys again, the crowd - which was mostly witches of Mrs. Weasley's age - squealed, then abruptly silenced. He was grateful for this, but his ears were ringing. And then he heard a voice. It was high-pitched, yet obviously masculine, and full of pomp and utter delight in himself. _What fresh hell is this?_ Toshiro wondered, elbowing his way past the enthralled people until he found a small end table. He climbed up onto it to raise himself above the heads of the crowd, and got his first look at the idiotic fool that would be his utterly useless teacher this year.

Gilderoy Lockhart.

He was an annoyingly tall man with pale blond hair and blindingly white teeth. Toshiro decided they _had_ to be fake. His eyes were a glittering forget-me-not blue that matched the color of his robes. He was surrounded by his books, on the covers of which showed moving copies of his face, all flashing that gaudy smile and brash wink. As each adoring fan approached him, his smile widened, he laughed, and took their books, flipping over the cover so he could sign his name and pass it back. Toshiro could immediately tell that each little compliment and bold joke were faked. This man was a phony.

He would not, however, voice this decision, he decided as he made his way back to the Weasley's. With the sheer number of fans in here, he was likely to be trampled, suffocated, or squashed if he said anything wrong about the celebrity.

As the group slowly made their way forward, the people in front thinned, and Mrs. Weasley craned her neck to see over. She whispered excitedly to her oldest son, Percy the Prefect, who simply looked bored.

They were almost to the front when a reporter stepped in front of them to snap yet another picture of Lockhart. He trod on Ron's foot and immediately proceeded to snap at the boy. "Out of the way, there. This is for the _Daily Prophet_ -"

"Big deal," Ron said, rubbing his foot.

The _Daily Prophet_. Toshiro had heard of it. It was the most famous newspaper in the wizarding world, and almost everyone subscribed to it. Toshiro had looked at it once, saw the baffling way they positioned their articles, and promptly threw it in the fire. The flames had turned a bright purple for a moment.

He was abruptly brought out of his memories when the obnoxious man suddenly leaped to his feet and shouted, "It _can't_ be Harry Potter?" He immediately dove forward and grabbed Harry's arm, pulling him to the front. Toshiro could see Harry's face burn at the attention, and the news reporter's camera clicked like mad, its billowing smoke irritating his eyes. Toshiro rubbed them and watched as Lockhart gave a speech of how he was _so_ proud to meet the _famous_ Harry Potter, how the boy would get a _complete_ set of his books, and - to Toshiro's complete and utter horror - how he would be teaching at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Toshiro made a strangled sound. No one noticed or cared when he suddenly started spouting off curses in Japanese.

Why, oh why did this have to happen?

Forget Voldemort. _This_ would be the man to kill him. This year would be hell.

* * *

Once Lockhart finally released Harry, the boy stumbled back to the gaggle of Weasleys and dumped his armful of books into Ginny's cauldron. "You can have these," he muttered, face still rivaling Renji's hair. "I'll buy my own-"

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?"

Toshiro resisted the urge to pull out his wand and silence the boy. Instead, he turned to look up at Draco Malfoy, who was standing on the stairs above them, leaning on the railing. He was wearing his usual sneer, and his slicked-back hair reflected the light.

" _Famous_ Harry Potter," Malfoy continued. "Can't even go into a _bookshop_ without making the front page."

Well, he had a point there. That would be incredibly irritating.

"Malfoy," Toshiro snapped, and Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, and Harry's eyes immediately focused on him. Apparently yelling at subordinates did have an effect elsewhere. "This bookshop is loud, crowded, and hot, and I am in no mood for you. If you don't leave now, I may not be able to stop myself from ceasing your mindless prattle with excessive force. I highly suggest you leave. Now."

Malfoy wasn't intimidated. His upper lip curled. "Watch who you're talking to, _old man_. I am a Pureblood, and you filthy mudbloods shouldn't even be able to speak to us! Be quiet, little boy, and I won't tell my father what you've done."

Toshiro glared his best death glare at Malfoy, and was gratified to see the boy flinch. "I do not know what a mudblood is, but since it came out of your mouth, I will assume it is an insult. But you should _never_ call me little!"

The room's temperature started to drop, and Toshiro might have done much more than that if not for the timely arrival of Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George. "Hey, what are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

"Well, well, well - Arthur Weasley." The voice was an adult version of Malfoy's. So, the head fool had arrived. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in the same way as his son.

Toshiro was distracted from his anger by the confusing reiatsu coming off the man. One second it seemed normal, and the next it felt...dead...stale...He didn't really know how to describe it. It was just so _wrong_.

He was so focused on the newcomer's reiatsu that he only tuned back in when Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley suddenly started to fight. The crowd cleared a wide circle around the two men - an impressive feat, considering the amount of people in here - and watched with amusement. Toshiro, however, watched in disdain. _This_ was how wizards fought? Pathetic. Even the new recruits could do better than this.

They grappled for only a short time before Hagrid arrived and picked both up, pulling them away. Mr. Weasley had come out with a split lip, and Mr. Malfoy had the beginnings of a black eye. He snorted and dropped something into Ginny's cauldron before he and Draco swept from the shop. As the twins, Mr. Weasley, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Hagrid, and Toshiro also exited, Mrs. Weasley was shaking with fury.

"A _fine_ example to set for your children... _brawling_ in public... _what_ Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought-"

 _Well, then if it's bad in public, its fine in private,_ Toshiro thought, scoffing.

Hyourinmaru snorted. _"You would have made short work of them."_

 _"Wouldn't have been hard. They were both_ terrible _."_

Once back at the Leaky Cauldron, Toshiro went upstairs and packed all his new things into his trunk. When he came back down, the Weasleys and Harry were sitting at a long table. The Grangers had gone to a Muggle pub across the street.

The gaggle ate dinner there, and Mrs. Weasley insisted Toshiro join them. She kept trying to get him to eat more than the soup and tea that he had, but he flatly refused. He didn't like their food, and this was enough, thank you very much. In actuality, he would have gone for some watermelon, but Tom didn't have any.

"You're much too thin!" Mrs. Weasley protested. "You hardly have any meat on your bones!"

"I have enough," Toshiro replied, his annoyance letting his Japanese accent thicken. "I am not used to this food, and I would get sick if I ate any."

"Shame," Ron muttered, scarfing down his meat. Toshiro saw only as a blur as he deposited it into his mouth.

"Hogwarts will have familiar food," Toshiro said, sitting back and sipping his tea. "I will eat then."

"But that's a month away!"

"Molly, please, he's obviously not going to eat any more. Pestering him more will only make him rebel more." Mr. Weasley smiled warmly at Toshiro, whose emotionless mask didn't crack. "I assume you are from Japan?"

"Correct."

He was alarmed to see Mr. Weasley's eyes light up. "What's it like there? The Muggle technology, and are you Muggle born? Where did you-"

"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley interrupted. "If I'm not allowed to get him to eat, you aren't allowed to ask him about Muggles!"

"Fine," Mr. Weasley muttered, appearing to deflate.

Toshiro spent the rest of the meal in silence, watching and studying the working of the Weasley clan. He learned a lot from his silent observations, like how Mr. Weasley could be childish and have to be reigned in by his wife; Mrs. Weasley took the role of the head of the house, and would be strict when he thought she might not want to but was best for everyone; the twins were pranksters and loved to torment their older brother, Percy. Percy was stiff and occasionally stuck-up, and he regarded his family with a certain amount of disdain. Ron was a mix of juvenile indulgence and a childish mind. The youngest - and only daughter - Ginny was quiet among her brothers, but Toshiro noticed she kept stealing glances at Harry when she thought no one was looking. It was clear that she felt an attraction towards him.

It's amazing what you can learn just by observation.

Toshiro long finished his tea before the Weasleys finished their dinner, chats, arguments, and contests. There was then a mad scramble as everyone grabbed their things and headed off to a fireplace in the corner. Toshiro watched curiously as one by one, they disappeared in a cloud of green smoke and shouting out their destination. The children went first, oldest to youngest, and soon it was just Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Harry, and Toshiro left. The pub was oddly quiet.

"Do you have somewhere to go, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked kindly, looking down at Toshiro.

"I am staying here until school starts."

He didn't miss the look the two adults shared. Mr. Weasley was, for once, completely serious when he asked, "You're staying here alone?"

"Yes, but I did it last summer. I can handle myself." He was becoming uncomfortable, and wished they'd get down to their question.

"What about your parents? You aren't going to stay with them?"

Toshiro set his jaw. Ron and Harry were watching the exchange curiously. He'd never spoken much about his past the entire last year. "I do not know them. I was raised by my grandmother. And she is fine with me staying here."

"Oh, I'm sorry..."

"There is no need. I never knew my parents."

"Well, then, would you like to stay with us? We have plenty of room, and any friend of Ron's is always welcome."

Toshiro started to shake his head, then paused. This time his mission was to kill the dark wizard, Voldemort, who seemed to have an unnatural obsession with killing Harry. Therefore, if he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, he should stick with the black-haired boy. But then, how to accept without seeming too unhappy or forced...?

"Are you sure?" he asked, tilting his head and letting his bangs fall into one eye. "I mean, you have such a large family already, and I wouldn't want to impose upon you."

"Oh, it's no problem," Mrs. Weasley hurried to reassure him, her voice having a soft cooing to it. Toshiro kept an outward emotionless mask, but inside he was cursing her. Hyourinmaru was laughing. A blizzard was starting. "We have plenty of room; we're wizards, after all."

Toshiro looked to Mr. Weasley, who nodded reassuringly.

Hyourinmaru attempted - and failed - to quell his laughter.

"If you're sure, then I would appreciate it."

"Quite sure, dear, quite sure. Why don't you go up and get your things, and we'll wait for you down here."

"Alright." As he walked back to his room, he had the suspicion that the Weasleys were disappearing into the fireplace as soon as he turned his back.

 _"You should be more trusting, Master,"_ Hyourinmaru said. _"It would do you good. I believe these people are kind."_

 _"People are not kind, Hyourinmaru. They do and act how they must in order to survive."_

 _"Then why are they taking you in?"_

Toshiro grimaced. _"Don't say it like that. I'm not a moocher, like Abarai."_

 _"No, but you are going to be living for free there."_

Toshiro stopped. He hadn't considered this. The Weasleys were so poor, and they could probably only barely afford to feed their own children. How would they deal with one more?

 _"Give them money."_

 _"They wouldn't take it."_

 _"Hide it in their house; they'll find it eventually."_

 _"Yeah, I guess."_

When he came back down, he found only Mrs. Weasley still there. She smiled and looked him over. "Have you got your things?"

"Yes. I shrunk them." He showed her the trunk that he'd slipped into his pocket. He was carrying Athena in her cage.

Mrs. Weasley looked surprised. "You know how to do that?"

"Yes," Toshiro replied. "The library at Hogwarts has many spell books in it."

And that was that.

Mrs. Weasley explained to him how to travel using the Floo Network, then he was standing in the fireplace feeling more than a little foolish. He let the black powder drop. "The Weasley House."

It was a very uncomfortable feeling, traveling through the Floo Network. He felt like he was being spun around and around, until he had lost all sense of direction. He was hot and cold at the same time, and if he opened his eyes and looked past the bluish-green flames flickering around him, he could see openings flash past - other fireplaces, he guessed.

If he hadn't been used to shunpo, he might have thrown up the instant he stepped out of the fireplace, but as it was, his stomach felt queasy. He could tell Hyourinmaru felt similar, as he was grumbling woozily.

"How was it?" Upon hearing the familiar voice, he looked up to see a swarm of red hair, and one black-haired boy all peering down at him. Toshiro straightened up, and then heard a very unpleasant sound.

Athena had her head down, and pale liquid was streaming from her beak. Toshiro winced and set her cage down on the ground so she could have something stable under her. When the owl was done, she glared up at Toshiro with angry gray eyes.

"I think she summed it up quite nicely," Toshiro responded.

* * *

 **Yay, finally an update! I don't like how long the wait was; Tuesday-Friday is much better than Monday-Friday.**

 **1\. So, football is soccer in America, and soccer is american football in...everywhere else? I think? In this instance I mean American Football (touchdowns one). Hope this is clear, and I didn't confuse anyone with this strange clarification.**

 **Anyway, reviews are always welcome! See you next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter/Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Life with the Weasleys was...odd. It was a good chance, Toshiro supposed, to learn more about wizarding life, but he wasn't sure how much he could take of it. They all seemed _too_ cheerful, for a large, poor family. From his experience, people in the Rukongai weren't nearly this happy. Mrs. Weasley was in generally good spirits, and the children were all very excited to go to Hogwarts. Mr. Weasley was constantly asking Harry and Toshiro about Muggle life - Toshiro really wasn't much help, and he let his Japanese accent thicken to let the annoying adult know that he didn't want to talk. Often he had to speak so heavily that no one could understand him. They got the hint.

Eventually.

Mrs. Weasley had preformed an expansion charm on the house so that he had his own small room to stay in. It was nothing like his Captain's quarters back in Soul Society, but once he preformed a silencing charm on it, it was peaceful. He would take it.

The Weasleys seemed to have a magical purpose for everything. There was a clock downstairs that recorded where every Weasley was, the pots always seemed to be cleaning themselves, and a broom kept sweeping the same patch of floor over and over again. The wizards seemed to rely on magic for everything. That was, until they tossed the gnomes out of the garden.

Toshiro had watched as the Weasleys (and Harry, who was curious about the whole thing) trouped out to the garden. Ron proceeded to bend down and pull a gnome out of its hole. He held it away from him as it shouted "Gerrof me! Gerrof me!" and kicked its tiny horned feet. It looked rather similar to a potato, and had a large, knobby, bald head. Toshiro was instantly reminded of Ikkaku.

Then Ron held the creature upside down by its ankles and started spinning it. Toshiro watched in fascinated horror as he suddenly threw it, and it landed with a painful sounding thump on the other side of the garden fence.

Toshiro was sitting on the porch step watching as the children soon started a game of gnome tossing. He followed it with his sharp turquoise eyes as they flew further and further. Suddenly, he realized Hyourinmaru was chuckling.

 _"What is it?"_ he asked the dragon, who quieted just long enough to answer.

 _"I am thinking that you could put them all to shame in their gnome tossing."_

 _"I refuse to play such a childish game."_

 _"Like I said, you are playing the role of a child. You need to act like one in order to fit in."_

 _"No."_ Toshiro would not relinquish his position, despite how much Hyourinmaru needled him. At last the garden was gnome-free, and the children stomped inside for drinks. Toshiro watched the gnomes stumbling around on the outside of the garden fence and shook his head. _This is going to be a long year._

* * *

 **"Everything is quiet, sir. Voldemort has yet to show himself."**

 **"Very well. Keep up your watch."**

 **"Yes, sir."**

The line went dead. Toshiro sighed and put the phone back into his pocket, then laid back on the roof and looked up at the night sky. The Weasley house was out in the country somewhere, obviously, as the stars were bright and the sky was dark. He looked up at them, and didn't see any he recognized.

The heat of summer cooled off at night, and he enjoyed the cool tile under him, the breeze stirring his hair. That one persistent bit was still hanging into his eye, but he largely ignored it.

He had been at the Weasley's house for a few weeks, and the next day they were scheduled to go to Hogwarts. Toshiro didn't know whether to look forward to that or not. He had already finished all seven of the years' books, and so had taken to practicing some of the more interesting ones. He was most interested in one that created water; that could be useful to him, given that he uses frozen water in a fight.

As the night deepened and the gentle breeze continued to play with his hair, Toshiro started dozing off. He found it harder and harder to keep his eyes open, and he was just so comfortable...

"Toshiro!"

He jumped, eyes instantly snapping open. He was confused for a moment, seeing that the sun was shining down on him, but then he realized what had happened. He had fallen asleep, and now the Weasleys were getting ready to leave.

Toshiro silently crept back into his room and gathered his stuff. He'd already packed the night before, and so it took him only a minute to get it. He went downstairs, and found the Weasleys sitting around the table. Food was heaped onto it.

"Oh, good, finally," Mrs. Weasley said, and steered him to a seat. "Here, eat, quickly. We don't want to be late."

"Call me Hitsugaya," Toshiro reminded her, but she simply waved her hand as he sat and then hurried off.

Toshiro saw the food on the table and winced. After all this time, he still hadn't gotten used to the greasy food the English ate, and so simply sat back with his tea. It was much too sweet and sugary for his taste, but it was all they had. Luckily Mrs. Weasley wasn't heckling him to eat more, as she was bustling around, finishing last minute preparations.

"How are we getting to the train station?" Toshiro asked. He could simply open a Senkaimon or shunpo there, but that would raise more questions than he could or wanted to answer.

"Car," Mr. Weasley answered, pleased to talk and get out of the way of his wife. He showed Toshiro how the car was enchanted so that all of them could fit in while having enough room for everything - much like his room.

By the time they all finally piled into the car, Toshiro was having to consciously keep his anger to a minimum in order not to freeze everyone. He was sitting by the window, and was grateful to the air blowing into his face, but having to listen to the horde of Weasleys and Harry all talking over one another was not something he enjoyed. Not by a long shot.

Even so, by the third time that they had to turn around for someone to get something, the inside of the car was getting very cold. "Heater must be broken," Mr. Weasley muttered, turning it up. Toshiro glared at the machine, and they proceeded to have a battle.

Needless to say, he won. The ride was a cold one.

They arrived at the train station at a quarter to eleven. Once they all had trolleys, they headed into the station.

Toshiro remembered how to get onto the platform from last year. You walk through a brick wall. So, once they reached it, he gave a small bow to the adult Weasleys, said a quick thank you for allowing him to stay at their home during the summer, and went through the wall.

* * *

The platform was just as crowded and loud as last year. Toshiro made his way to the train, occasionally pushing people out of the way. He boarded, found an empty compartment, and stored his trunk on the rack above. Then he let Athena out of her cage and let her sit on his lap, stroking her wing absently. He watched as children milled about the platform, saying good-bye to their families, greeting friends, and talking excitedly. Toshiro's turquoise eyes narrowed. He shouldn't be here. He was much older than these _children_ , and mission or not, he had a feeling he was going to freeze someone this year.

 _"Come here, Master,"_ Hyourinmaru sighed. Toshiro frowned but closed his eyes and entered his inner world

He saw the familiar icy plain, with its sharp peaks in the distance, soft snow powdering the ground, and a sharp wind constantly blowing. Paradise. He looked up at Hyourinmaru, who was standing proudly on the ice and regarding the Shinigami with crimson eyes. "What is it?" Toshiro asked, sitting down comfortably.

Hyourinmaru coiled around Toshiro and brought his head forward to look him in the eye. "You are unhappy. It is making the living conditions here miserable."

Toshiro glanced around. "It looks normal."

"Because no one is irritating you at the moment. But during the trip here, I had to fly above a blizzard."

"Sorry."

"My point is, you need to relax. Think of this mission as a vacation."

Toshiro scoffed. "A vacation? A mission is not a vacation."

Hyourinmaru's great head dipped. "And that is precisely your problem. This school is not difficult to you - it is different, but the Academy was much more challenging. You enjoy research, and the school has a vast library. I suggest you use it."

Toshiro considered the zanpakuto for a moment, then ran a hand along the frigid scales next to him. "Perhaps I should, but the children get on my nerves. I can not have a moment's peace when they are around."

Hyourinmaru hummed thoughtfully, and the loops around Toshiro tightened. "I see." His voice held some significance that Toshiro didn't understand. That irritated him.

"What is it?"

"You equate these children to the other students at the Academy."

Toshiro stiffened, and the chill wind grew sharper. "I don't know what you mean."

Hyourinmaru turned one large eye towards his master. "I think you do."

"No, I don't." Toshiro stood, scowling. "Good-bye." He left his inner world to find a pair of large brown eyes staring at him. He yelped softly and leaned back, reaching for a sword that wasn't there. The person backed away, holding up her hands in a gesture of peace.

"I'm sorry to startle you. I thought you were asleep."

"So you invade my personal space whenever I'm asleep?" Toshiro asked grumpily, annoyed that he'd let someone get so close without him noticing.

Hermione blushed. "Well, no, I just - what _were_ you doing?"

Toshiro sighed and scratched Athena under her beak. She leaned into his fingers. "I was meditating. There are many people around, and meditating helps me to calm myself."

"You meditate?"

Toshiro had to bite his tongue to keep from snapping back a retort. Instead he chose to reply softly and simply. "Yes."

"Oh." Hermione sat back, seeming put-out. "Have you seen Harry or Ron?"

"They were behind me when I went through the wall."

"Huh? Why?" She gave him a quizzical look.

"After we met in Diagon Alley, I spent the last few weeks of summer at the Weasleys' home."

"Oh." She frowned and looked nervously out the window. "Well, I wonder why we haven't seen them yet."

"I don't know," Toshiro shrugged. _And don't care._

 _Master..._ Hyourinmaru rumbled warningly. Toshiro took a deep breath, and rocked softly as the train jolted to a start. A loud whistle blew, drowning out all conscious thought. He looked out the window and watched as the train slowly pulled out of the station, leaving behind a platform full of waving families. Then the train picked up speed and the city soon turned to countryside.

Hermione seemed to understand that he didn't wish to talk, as she was silent until the door opened and Neville walked in. "Hi," he said shyly. "Can I sit in here?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione glance at him, and when he didn't respond, she nodded. "Sure. Come on in. How was your summer?"

"Oh, it was fine..." Neville shifted uncomfortably, and the toad on his lap let out a large belch. "I mean, it was the usual...How was yours?"

"It was great! My parents took me to ride the Ferris Wheel, and I could see _all_ of London! It was such a clear day, and..."

Toshiro tuned them out and continued to stare out the window. At this point, all he wanted to do was have this mission to be over so that he could go back to Soul Society and - a familiar ringing interrupted his thoughts. Hermione and Neville broke off their conversation to stare at him as he stood and exited the compartment. Once outside, he flipped open his Soul Phone and saw the caller I.D. He groaned.

 **"Hitsugaya."** He spoke in Japanese, just in case any students passed by.

 **"Hey, Captain! How's the mission going?"**

He sighed softly at the familiar and bubbly voice. **"All is well. Why are you calling? What did you do this time, Matsumoto?"**

 **"Ah, Captain, don't you have any faith in me? All's fine here. The division's still up and running."**

 **"Then why are you calling?"** He leaned against the wall and looked out the window. Green hills were rolling past.

 **"I just wanted to see how my Captain was doing..."**

 **"And?"** he prompted as she trailed off.

 **"And, well...um, do you think you could, um, melt the ice on the training grounds? It's getting in the way of training..."**

Toshiro groaned. Had he really forgotten to melt the ice before he left? What an idiot. **"Yes, I'll melt it. I apologize."**

 **"Oh, it's nothing. We just had to train elsewhere."** She laughed. **"At first we tried to train on the ice, but we quickly found _that_ wasn't a good idea!"**

Toshiro winced. Not everyone had such good balance on the ice as he did. **"Did anyone get seriously injured?"**

 **"No, just a few bruises. Honestly, it was really fun to watch!"** She giggled, and he waited patiently. Outside, farms had started to dot the country, and he could see blobs of white - which he assumed were sheep - scattered around. **"Anyway - oh! It's melting!"**

Toshiro rolled his eyes. **"Of course it is. I told you I'd melt it, didn't I?"**

 **"Yeah, you did. Well, thanks!"**

 **"It was my fault to begin with, so I-"** He cut himself off and pressed closer to the window, tilting his head to look up. For a split second, he had just seen a flying blue car beside the train. He looked around, but didn't see it. Still, at least he now had something to do.

 **"Captain?"** Rangiku's voice was uncertain, and now had an undercurrent of worry to it. He scowled and quickly replied before hanging up.

 **"Sorry, I've got to investigate something. Good-bye."**

 **"By-"**

Toshiro swallowed a soul candy and instructed it to go back to his compartment. Then he opened the window and jumped out. He went up to the top of the train and stood on it, looking around. The wind was strong here and threatened to blow him off, but he kept his footing. He didn't see anything but countryside and a cloudy sky, and so was about to go back in when the sun glinted off something and into his eyes. He winced but looked in its direction and saw it. There it was - a flying blue car that looked very familiar. It was the car that the Weasleys' had gone to the station in.

He frowned and pushed off the train roof, heading swiftly towards the vehicle. It was flying erratically, and once he got close enough to look in through the window, he saw why. Ron was driving, and Harry was sitting in the passenger's seat. They were laughing, so he went back to the train and stood on the roof again.

Why were they going to Hogwarts in a flying car? Did they wish to die?

* * *

Hermione left the apartment several times to look for the missing boys. Each time she came back even more worried than before. Neville joined in the search but found nothing. She asked Toshiro to search, but he just blinked at her and didn't move. She paused in the act of standing, staring at him. His eyes, normally guarded and calculating, were round and soft.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He nodded. "Of course. But I'm just going to sit here." His tone was light, and his usual scowl was missing. Hermione puzzled it over for another moment, but then shook her head and walked out.

Toshiro was acting oddly for most of the rest of the train ride. He never snapped back a retort, he seemed more relaxed, and he even laughed a few times. This had shocked Hermione and Neville, as they had never heard him laugh - sarcastically didn't count - during the entire year. However, he didn't seem to notice their puzzlement.

The greatest shock was when the food trolley came around. Toshiro, well known for disliking any form of sweets, bought a large bag of candy, and systematically worked his way through it. He even offered to share.

This was starting to creep the two children out, but then, while Hermione and Neville were busy reading the card from a chocolate frog, he suddenly said, "Get out. I'm going to change into my robes."

They jumped at the sudden change of tone, and looked up to see that he once again had his sharp eyes and scowl back. Said look was currently fixed on the candy wrappers scattered around them. He looked disgusted and disappointed. Then he glanced at them again.

"I'm not going to change with you here. Especially you, Granger."

Hermione left the compartment along with Neville, puzzled at the sudden change.

* * *

Toshiro was very unhappy to come back to find his gigai chowing down on candy. He watched, annoyed and sickened, but had to wait until Neville and Hermione wouldn't see him go in through the window. It was odd, to say the least, to hang outside the Hogwarts express without anyone seeing him. The tunnels, especially, were worrying. At last they'd been distracted by a card, and he'd taken the opportunity to slip back into the gigai.

Once he had changed and disposed of the teeth-rotters, he'd let the children back in. Hermione had asked him if he was okay, to which he replied, "I am well, but I find my conduct inappropriate." He'd been referring, of course, to the gigai eating the candy, but the two children didn't know what he'd meant. They left it alone, fortunately for them. Sadly, Hyourinmaru took the opportunity to admonish him.

Hermione continued to come and go, still searching for Ron and Harry. She was worried, as was Neville, who seemed to think that being friends with a celebrity would keep the bullies away. Right.

Toshiro, of course, couldn't tell them what he saw, because then he would have to say _how_ he found out, and that would lead to difficult questions, so he stayed silent. He sat puzzling it out, and the best he could figure, the boys had somehow missed the train and so had stolen the Weasley family car to fly to Hogwarts.

How rude. Now Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would be stuck at the train station.

* * *

The train sped across the countryside, racing the setting sun that slowly slid behind the rolling hills and rising mountains. The light had faded from the world, and the stars had started dotting the sky as the Hogwarts Express slowed to a stop. Toshiro stood with the others and joined the mass of students that poured from the train. Their belongings would be taken to their dorms by magic, he supposed.

Hagrid was calling for the first years, but Toshiro ignored him. He followed the rest of the students as they walked along a short path to find many black carriages lined up and ready to take them to the school. There were black, winged horses harnessed to the front. They didn't seem to have any meat on them, as each bone was clearly visible underneath the taut skin and thin muscle. Toshiro was intrigued by their auras, which seemed to radiate quiet peace and the finality of death.

Toshiro walked up to one, which reacted to his presence and rested its head on his shoulder. He stroked its neck, surprised to feel how soft it was. The winged-horse snorted softly, then pulled away as Hermione and Neville approached. "What are you doing, Hitsugaya?" Hermione asked.

Toshiro tilted his head. "Do you know what this is?" He continued to stroke the winged-horse's neck. Its black eyes regarded the other children coldly, though it leaned into Toshiro.

Hermione frowned and shook her head. "What what is?"

"You don't see it? The horse."

"There's no horse, Hitsugaya. The carriages pull themselves."

"No they aren't," Neville said suddenly, surprising both witch and Shinigami. He stretched out a tentative hand to the horse, who sniffed it then pulled away and let out a loud cry.

"You're both seeing things," Hermione sighed, climbing into the carriage, where two other students were already seated. "Come on. We don't want to be late."

Toshiro patted the horse's neck one last time, and took a seat in the carriage closest to the horse. As the horse pulled it away, he leaned forward and stroked its wings.

* * *

 **As always, reviews are welcome and appreciated. They really do make my day, seeing someone comment on it. Anyway, thanks for reading, and stay tuned!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter/Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

The ride to Hogwarts was short and surprisingly comfortable. Perhaps it was the magic that allowed the carriage to glide over the rough path, or perhaps he was enjoying the cool night air too much to notice. Either way, the castle soon came into view, and the carriage rolled to a stop besides a stone path that led inside. The students disembarked, and Toshiro gave the horse one last pat before walking away. Its mournful cry followed him.

They walked into Hogwarts, and Toshiro could sense the ancient reishi that seemed to be embedded within the walls. It wasn't like what he was used to in Soul Society, but it was comforting nonetheless. He walked through the entrance and supposed that the reishi helped the growing wizards hone their powers. Magic used an extremely diluted reiatsu to function.

Huh. That must be why wizards are very particular about their wands. It had to be compatible with their reiatsu or they couldn't preform spells. Interesting.

All these thoughts happened in a very short amount of time as he made his way to the Great Hall. The joys of being a prodigy.

The students were chattering excitedly as they took seats at their house table. The glowing candles were still hovering above the tables, and he briefly wondered why they didn't drip wax. Probably magic.

Slowly, the flood of students entering the Great Hall slowed, and finally the doors were closed once the last Hufflepuff had taken her seat. Toshiro ignored the nattering children around him and looked up towards the head table, and saw Dumbledore in the middle, holding a wine glass in one hand and surveying the hall through glittering spectacles. Several seats down was Lockhart, dressed in aquamarine robes and talking to an annoyed-looking Professor Sprout. There were three empty seats, and Toshiro quickly deduced that Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape were the ones missing. Hagrid and McGonagall were easy enough to figure out - they were bringing the first years - but he couldn't figure out why Snape was gone. Then Hagrid walked in and took his seat, and a few minutes later the doors opened and a line of nervous first years entered following a proud McGonagall. The entire hall silenced, and every eye watched the first years gather before the head table. Toshiro could see Ginny among them; her head of red hair was an unmistakable trait of the Weasleys'.

McGonagall placed a stool before the group, and set the old Sorting Hat on top. Toshiro regarded it with little interest; he wasn't interested in what it had to say. A seam split along its brim, and it broke into a song about Hogwarts, telling all about the history of the Houses. Finally, it ended with on a dark tone, which surprised the Shinigami.

"The whispering curse finds its prey;

A castle under siege with no escape;

Unite with a call to arms;

Light will be cast, and secrets revealed.

Now come forward, young ones, and let the sorting begin!"

The Hall was quiet for a moment before hesitant clapping began, and McGonagall stepped forward with her list of names. She called them forward, one by one, but Toshiro wasn't paying attention. He was mulling over the obvious warning, wondering what it could be.

 _'The whispering curse finds its prey'...prey must mean the students, but whispering? Does it mean something living, or personification, maybe? 'Castle under siege' is obvious - we are going to be attacked. 'Unite with a call to arms'...wands would count as weapons, but no fighting is allowed. I doubt Dumbledore would allow a war inside his castle. And that last line...'Secrets revealed'. Could it mean me?_ His eyes narrowed, and he clapped automatically as someone was sorted into Gryffindor. _If so, the hat will have to learn its place._

He broke from his thoughts as Ginny was sorted into Gryffindor, and greeted her brothers with an enthusiastic grin. She sat beside some other first years, hair flaming under the light of the candles.

Eventually the sorting finished, and Dumbledore made his customary speech before waving his hands and platters of food appeared on the tables. The students dug in, but Toshiro simply grabbed some tea. He needed to think.

* * *

During the entire feast, the only thing he said was a polite hello to Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, who also responded politely. He and the ghosts weren't exactly on the best of terms, but they would tolerate each other. He only hoped he didn't have to deal with Peeves this year.

When the feast was finally over, Toshiro got the password from a Prefect and climbed silently to the Gryffindor common room. The usual fire was burning, and he slowly lowered the room temperature to a more pleasing level. Then he sat by the open window, like he had last year. The actual window was set back into the wall, and it was wide enough for him to lay down in and not touch either wall.

 _"I wouldn't dwell on it too much, Master,"_ Hyourinmaru said suddenly.

 _"Hm?"_ Toshiro questioned.

 _"The warning from the hat. It could be nothing."_

 _"Perhaps."_ Both knew that wasn't true.

Gryffindors started to pour into the common room, and it quickly filled with people and noise. Toshiro silently glared at them, but then returned his gaze to the outside world. He could see the dark line of the Forbidden Forest in the distance, and if he leaned out, he could just get a glimpse of the lake.

"Brilliant!" someone suddenly yelled. He looked around to see a kid - Lee...Jordan? - grinning at the pair that had just climbed through the portrait hole. "Inspired! What an entrance! Flying a car right into the Whomping Willow, people'll be talking about that one for ages-"

Oh. Right. He'd heard rumors about it. Apparently Harry and Ron had managed to crash the car into the one tree that was actually valuable. Idiots.

Said boys were surrounded by grinning Gryffindors. Hermione was standing a bit behind them, scowling. It wasn't nearly as impressive as his - perhaps he should give her lessons. Never know when you might need to terrify the first years.

"Got to get upstairs - bit tired," Ron said, and he and Harry started making their way to the boys' dorms. Once they disappeared, the children dispersed, still talking excitedly.

"I can't believe they didn't get expelled," Hermione said, appearing beside the window. He turned to her and shrugged.

"What did you expect? It's not as if they are ever going to expel the one boy that they believe will save the entire world. No, he could commit murder and get away with it."

Hermione sighed. "They've got detention, at least."

"When do they ever _not_ have detention?"

* * *

Toshiro eventually went upstairs, found his dorm, and discovered that the rest of the boys were still up and talking animatedly to Harry and Ron. He made his way over to his bed, which was thankfully next to the window, and changed. Before he went to sleep, he checked his Soul Phone. No hollows. No messages. He put it back into the enchanted bag, and settled down. He hadn't thought he was tired, but he soon found himself unable to keep his eyes open.

* * *

As usual, Toshiro was the first one in the Great Hall the next morning. He nodded a greeting to Dumbledore and strode along the Gryffindor table to find some tea. He didn't really like eating first thing in the morning, and so he only had tea. Professor McGonagall handed him his schedule, and he sat down with a book to wait.

The other students slowly trickled in, and the Hall grew much too noisy and crowded. The students seemed to be in high spirits, as he had to dodge several bits of flying pancakes that went soaring past. He scowled, wiped a bit of syrup off a page of his book, and continued reading.

Surprisingly, Neville arrived before the trio. He greeted Toshiro and tried to strike up a conversation, but Toshiro largely ignored him. The boy eventually gave up and turned to someone else.

Hermione arrived soon after. "Good morning, Hitusgaya," she said cheerfully, helping herself to a plate of porridge and kippers. Toshiro glanced at her food and made a face. Really? Fish for breakfast? Shaking his head, he turned back to his book.

Hermione still seemed to be annoyed at Ron and Harry, who came later. She answered their greeting with a stiff, "Morning."

"Mail's due any minute," Neville said suddenly, probably to break the uncomfortable silence. "I think Gran's sending a few things I forgot."

A _few_? From what Toshiro had seen last year, he'd be getting much more than a _few_ things. More like a few _hundred_ things.

Whatever his logic, the boy was correct about the mail. Owls suddenly swarmed into the Great Hall, circling their owners and dropping parcels, letters, and packages. There was one particularly idiotic owl that practically fell into into Hermione's jug, spraying milk and feathers everywhere. Toshiro scowled, cleaned off his robes with a spell, and watched with little interest as Ron scooped the pathetic gray owl out and set him on the table. "Errol!"

"It is still alive, sadly," Toshiro said, seeing the owl's chest rapidly rise and fall. Ron only glanced at him before turning pale and pointing to the large red envelope that the owl was carrying. "It's a letter," Toshiro answered his look.

"No, it - it's a Howler," he said in a whisper.

"A Howler."

"You'd better open it, Ron," Neville said faintly. "It'll be worse if you don't. My Gran sent me one once, and - it'll be over soon."

Ron reached over with shaking hands and pried it from the owl's beak. The corners were starting to smoke, and Toshiro leaned back warily. Ron lifted the flap, and _noise_ exploded.

"-STEALING THE CAR. I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU. YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE-"

The letter was hovering about a foot above the table, its opening scrunching like a mouth. Toshiro had his hands over his ears, as did most of the kids around them. In fact, the whole school had turned to see who had gotten a Howler. Even the teachers were watching.

"-LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE. LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED-"

Mrs. Weasley's yelling was shaking dust from the roof and rattling the plates on the tables. Toshiro quickly cast a muffling charm over himself, and was relieved to find the screaming drastically lowered to a more comfortable volume.

Ron was sinking down in his chair, the tips of his ears burning red. Harry had put his head down on the table.

"-ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED - YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."

The letter burst into flames and its ashes crumbled onto the table. There was a silence for a few moments, then a few people laughed, and conversation broke out again. Toshiro shook his head and went back to reading, only to have someone tap his shoulder. He looked up to see Hermione talking, but he couldn't hear the words. Realizing what was going on, he ended the muffling spell.

"-Come on, we've got to go to class!"

"Right." Toshiro stood and slid his book into his bag, then strode out of the Great Hall.

* * *

His first class was double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, so he quickly crossed the vegetable patch and made to the greenhouses. He had never liked the greenhouses, as they were always hot and humid inside.

The rest of the class was waiting outside for Professor Sprout, and she soon arrived with the last person he wanted to see. Lockhart.

He beamed around at them, flashing his fake white teeth. "Oh, hello there," he called. "Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology than she is! I just happen to have met several of these exotic plants on my travels..."

"Greenhouse three today, chaps!" Professor Sprout said, not her usual cheerful self. Well, that was understandable. Lockhart hadn't been there for two minutes and Toshiro was already considering the best way to decapitate him.

He smirked as Harry was stopped from going in by Lockhart, and left the boy to his torture. The rest of the class filed in and stood in a large loop around a box, Sprout in front. They waited until Harry came in a few minutes later, looking disturbed.

When he had taken a spot between Ron and Hermione, she said, "We'll be repotting Mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?"

Oh, Toshiro remembered this. The greenhouse was silent as each student did their best to remember the answer, but none raised their hands. Toshiro knew, of course, but he couldn't be bothered to raise his hand. Hermione, however, had her hand instantly in the air, and was speaking almost before Professor Sprout called on her.

"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative. It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state."

"Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor. The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?"

Toshiro was thinking the answer even as Hermione's hand shot up and smacked Harry's glasses off at the same time. He watched, smirking, as the boy lunged for them.

"The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it," Hermione answered breathlessly.

"Precisely. Take another ten points. Now, the Mandrakes we have here are still young." She then proceeded to gesture at the box in front of them, which was filled with dirt, and in the dirt little purplish green plants stuck up. She told everyone to put on the earmuffs which were in front of them, and Toshiro was grateful to see that his were black. She then grabbed one of the plants and pulled, hard.

Attached to the plant was what looked like a small, muddy, and very ugly baby. It reminded Toshiro of Kurotshuchi's zanpakuto, and he regarded the wailing thing with disgust. Professor Sprout put it in an empty pot and covered it with dirt, then told them that they would be doing the same, and to form into groups of four. Toshiro looked at the Golden Trio, but they had already been joined by a Hufflepuff boy that he didn't recognize, but introduced himself as Justin Finch-Fletchley. Toshiro shrugged and joined another group.

When he pulled his first Mandrake out of the box, it immediately started kicking and screaming, although the earmuffs were working and he couldn't hear it. He attempted to stuff it into the pot, but it wouldn't go in. Finally he gave up and narrowed his eyes until they were only gleaming slits of anger, and channeled some of his reiatsu down into the creature.

" _Enough_ ," he growled, and it stilled, feeling the frost starting to creep over its skin. It went quietly into a pot.

* * *

By the time they finished, the students were muddy and sweaty, and some were nursing bite marks on their hands. Toshiro left muddy but otherwise clean and without any bites. The Mandrakes had become afraid of him, and were only too happy to comply. He was pleased at the shocked look on Sprout's face when she saw him easily plop a Mandrake into a new pot.

They had Transfiguration next, and were transforming beetles into buttons. Toshiro and Hermione sat together, as they were wary of Ron's wand, which kept shooting sparks whenever he tried to use it. Both Shinigami and witch were successful in transfiguring the beetles, and before they knew it, they were in a contest to see who could get the most transformed by the end of class. Toshiro wasn't quite sure how or when it had started, but it ended as they asked for more beetles for the fifth time, and a half-annoyed, half-impressed McGonagall irritably told them to stop. In fact, she told them to turn the buttons back into beetles.

"You've exhausted my supply," she told them, glancing down at the heaping piles of buttons on their table. Hermione grinned at Toshiro. He ignored her and waved his wand.

* * *

By the end of class, Ron was smacking his wand on his desk, causing it to hiss angrily. Toshiro raised an eyebrow, silently questioning why the teachers didn't just fix it. Surely this had to happen all the time. Some poor sap puts his wand in his back pocket, sits down, and _snap_!

Ron's mood didn't improve during lunch, which was strange. Usually, stuffing his face full of food calmed him down, but he was still stewing as he played with his chips, stacking them into little pyramids.

After they finished eating, the Trio got up to go out to the courtyard, and Toshiro was planning to just stay where he was and continue reading, but he noticed a small, mousy-haired boy following them closely, a camera in his hands. Toshiro sighed, snapped closed his book, and went after the Trio. He caught up to them as they stood in the courtyard. Ron and Harry were talking about Quidditch - surprise, surprise - and Hermione was reading _Voyages with Vampires_.

"You're being followed," Toshiro said quietly to Harry, and gestured subtly over to the boy, who was standing a few feet away.

As the boy nervously introduced himself as Colin Creevey, Toshiro was silently berating the Trio for their lack of awareness. Seriously, if someone ever wanted to kill them, it would be ridiculously easy to do so.

He watched with amusement as the boy asked for a photo with the boy celebrity, then just _had_ to ask him to sign it. That was the moment, of course, that Malfoy had to show up. " _Signed photos_? You're giving out _signed photos_ , Potter?"

 _"I bet I could kill him and nobody would even care,"_ Toshiro remarked to Hyourinmaru. The ice dragon rumbled in agreement.

Malfoy then turned to the crowd. "Everyone line up! Harry Potter's giving out signed photos!"

 _"I wonder how quickly I can do it."_

"No, I'm not," Harry said angrily, balling his hands. "Shut up, Malfoy."

"You're just jealous," Colin broken in. He was shaking and gripping his camera so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

 _"_ How _did he jump to that conclusion?"_ Toshiro wondered.

" _Jealous_?" Malfoy sneered. "Of what? I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special, myself."

 _"I am afraid I must agree,"_ Hyourinmaru said. _"Scars are proof that you don't know how to duck."_

Toshiro snorted.

Malfoy looked to him. "What's so funny, _old man_?"

"None of your concern," Toshiro said calmly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Malfoy sneered at him, then turned back to taunting Harry, but Ron jumped in. "Eat slugs, Malfoy." He pulled out his wand, but Hermione pushed his hand down and whispered, "Don't! Look who's coming!"

Toshiro looked in the direction she was gesturing and groaned.

"What's all this, what's all this?" Gilderoy Lockhart strode into the midst of the students. "Who's giving out signed photos? Oh, I shouldn't have asked. We meet again, Harry!"

He put an arm around Harry's shoulders. The boy looked very uncomfortable with the contact and tried to pull away, but Lockhart had a firm grip and smiled out at the crowd. "Come on then, Mr. Creevey. A double portrait, can't do better than that, and we'll _both_ sign it for you."

 _"Why did Dumbledore hire such an idiot?"_ Toshiro sighed.

Colin took a quick picture, then Lockhart walked away, steering Harry along as the bell rang. Toshiro raised an eyebrow and followed. On the way to his classroom, Lockhart was giving what he probably considered good career advice to Harry. When they reached the class, Harry sat in the very back and hid behind a pile of books. Toshiro slid into a seat on the other side of the row.

"Just so you know, Potter," he said, gaining the attention of the red-faced boy. "If ever you wish to eliminate Lockhart, I will be more than happy to assist."

He focused on arranging his things, and could feel Harry's surprised eyes on him, but he never looked up to confirm if yes, that had been a real offer or not.

The class slowly filled, and soon Lockhart appeared at the front. All eyes were on him, especially the females. Toshiro could see Hermione sitting next to another girl and whispering excitedly. He rolled his eyes.

"Me," Lockhart said, and Toshiro resisted the urge to bang his head on the desk. His very first word of the year _would_ be about himself. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third CLass, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of _Witch Weekly's_ Most-Charming-Smile Award - but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by _smiling_ about her!"

He paused for laughs, but all he got was a few weak smiles and a drastic drop in temperature.

"Whoa," Lockhart chuckled, hurriedly putting his hands in his pockets. "Air must have kicked on. Anyway, let's start the year off with a quiz! Don't worry, it's nothing to worry about - just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in..."

 _Perhaps he won't be such an incompetent teacher after...all..._ He stared at number one. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?

What. The. Hell.

Toshiro flipped through the rest of the test, skimming the questions and picking out several more ridiculous ones.

What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition? What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date? When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday, and what would his ideal gift be?

The temperature in the room dropped even more.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Lockhart collected the papers and quickly looked them over, tutting occasionally. "Hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac. I say so in _Year With the Yeti_. And a few of you need to read _Wanderings with Werewolves_ more carefully - I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples - though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey!"

 _"Remember that,"_ Hyourinmaru said dryly. _"It should be fairly easy to poison him."_

 _"Noted."_

The rest of that Defense Against the Dark Arts class only went downhill from there. Lockhart complimented Hermione on knowing what his secret ambition was - causing her to blush - then produced a large cage covered in a cloth.

"Now - be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! you may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm."

The entire class leaned forward as he pulled the cloth from the cage with a flamboyant flourish, and inside were tiny creatures about eight inches tall, with electric blue skin and shiny eyes, pointed faces, and voices so shrill that Toshiro's ears hurt. They buzzed about in the cage, rattling the bars with their minuscule hands and hissing sharply.

"Freshly caught Cornish pixies," Lockhart said proudly. "Right then. Let's see what you make of them!" He reached around and tugged open the lock on the cage, pulled the door open, and the pixies escaped.

They whipped around the classroom with surprising speed, and chaos quickly descended. They shredded books, sending torn paper everywhere; threw chalk at Lockhart, who was cowering behind his desk; and even picked up Neville and deposited him on the iron chandelier. They soon reached the back of the classroom, and Toshiro attempted to dodge them until he finally got fed up.

"That's _it_!" he yelled, seizing a book from the floor and standing. He surveyed the pixies, and when one got close enough, he swung. He hit the pixie with so much force that it flew backwards and straight into the cage still on Lockhart's desk, toppling the entire thing over onto the ground with a loud clang. The pixies around him slowed, hovering just out of reach, appearing to be deciding whether or not to risk fighting the boy. A larger one got close enough, and Toshiro lunged. Again he swung the book, smacking the pixie straight into the nearest wall. It slid to the ground, stunned.

The rest of the pixies wasted no time in scrambling to get away. Toshiro watched them, content to let them leave. He looked up at Neville and preformed a quick spell that brought him safely down. The entire class was silent, staring at him. Lockhart was peering over his desk, eyes wide.

"What?" Toshiro said sarcastically. "It wasn't as if _he_ was going to do anything." He gestured angrily to Lockhart, who simply blinked. The bell rang, Toshiro packed up his things, and walked out of the destroyed classroom.

* * *

 **So, I think it's incredibly sad that I remember that Lockhart's favorite color is lilac. Incredibly sad.**

 **Anyway, that's Chapter 4! Reviews are always welcome!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter/Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

After the incident in Lockhart's classroom, the Professor seemed to take a particular hatred towards the Shinigami. He would try to pick on Toshiro in class, which always ended up backfiring. Toshiro had ingested the textbooks, and could always answer without hesitation. It was quickly obvious that Lockhart was terrible in practical demonstrations, and most of the students could do better than he did. Toshiro found himself zoning out in most of his Defense Against the Dark Arts periods.

Throughout the week, no Hollows showed up. That disappointed Toshiro, who wanted to keep busy. School just wasn't a challenge.

At last it was the weekend, and all Toshiro had planned was to go to the library and get through as many books as he could. Any information, however small and insignificant, should be reported to Soul Society so they could compile a more complete report on the wizards. Thus, he had lots of reading to do.

Toshiro was normally the first person awake in Gryffindor, but today he was woken up by voices in the dorm. He yawned and looked out the curtains to see a sixth year talking to Harry. The older boy was wearing Quidditch gear, and had a broom in his hand.

"Good man," the boy said as Harry groaned and got up. "Meet you on the field in fifteen minutes." He left, and Harry gathered his Quidditch things.

Toshiro looked out the window. The sky was pink and gold, and the birds were making enough of a racket to wake the dead. Well, it'd worked. He was going to go out there and make them shut up.

Toshiro got dressed and went downstairs several minutes after Harry. At least it was cool in the morning. Might as well go and take a walk. Maybe get in a run around the school.

With a plan in mind, Toshiro headed out of the castle. He walked for some time, but then a familiar spiritual pressure rose. It felt wild and uncontrolled, but also broken. Eyes widening, he shunpoed over.

The spiritual pressure led him to the Quidditch field. He stood atop the bleachers and looked down, preparing for the worst, but not expecting to find _this_.

The Gryffindor team and the Slytherin team were gathered on the pitch, but the Gryffindors were in a huddle, and the Slytherins appeared to be _laughing_. Toshiro made sure no one was looking, then jumped from the stands to the pitch, landed softly, and made his way over. Then he saw what they found so funny, and bit his lip.

Ron was lying on the ground, coughing up slugs. His face was an ugly shade of green, and he was clutching his stomach as the slimy creatures fell out of his mouth.

 _I have_ got _to learn that spell,_ Toshiro thought.

Harry and Hermione helped Ron up, since no one else seemed to want to go near him, and the boy with the camera rushed over. "What happened, Harry? What happened? Is he ill? But you can cure him, can't you?" Just then, Ron wheezed, and more slugs dribbled out. "Ooh," the boy said breathlessly. "Can you hold him still, Harry?"

"Out of the way, Colin!"

Toshiro followed as the three headed down to Hagrid's house. He watched as they hid from Lockhart, who was exiting Hagrid's hut, then went inside, sitting Ron down with a bucket. Toshiro turned aside. For whatever reason, he wanted to be alone.

He wandered around for a few hours until he went back to the castle. He was making his way to the library when he heard a voice. It was in an unfamiliar language, but he could catch some of the words. _"...feed...blood..."_ The raspy voice got softer and softer, and he took off running to follow it. He didn't care that he was running through the halls and getting weird looks from the children; he needed to find the source of the voice.

He followed it most of the length of Hogwarts, then it took a sharp turn up and disappeared. He cursed, not able to go through the ceiling. Just then, Hyourinmaru made an odd sound, one almost like recognition.

 _"What is it?"_ Toshiro asked, one hand pressed flat against the cool wall.

 _"The language that I taught you last year - Draconic?"_

 _"Of course."_ He remembered it, although he had used it next to none after Norbert had gone to Romania. _"What about it?"_

 _"The language that creature spoke in was similar to Draconic. It was more serpentine; however, it is close enough for me to be able to understand most of it. I believe both have the same base language."_

 _"What was the language?"_

Hyourinmaru took a long time to answer, and when he did, he sounded remorseful. _"I don't know."_

Toshiro sighed, banged a fist against the wall once, then pushed away. _"The library it is, then."_

* * *

He spent the rest of the day in the library. He looked for everything he could on serpentine languages, but the only one he found was Parseltongue. He sounded out a few words, and Hyourinmaru immediately identified it as the correct language. After that, Toshiro set about to become a Parselmouth.

It was difficult, as the wizards seemed to think all Parselmouthes were evil, and so while there were a few books that gave the definition of a Parselmouth, there was next to nothing when it came to the actual language. He could only find a few, and they were small and could be easily overlooked. Toshiro then decided that he would have to settle for Draconic and hope that it was enough to communicate with whatever the thing was.

He ate little at dinner then went back to his dorm, drew the curtains around the bed, and went into his inner world. He was greeted with a chill wind and a thick blanket of snow upon the ground. Hyourinmaru was lounging on the snow, tearing deep furrows with his claws.

 _"Should I worry about this creature?"_ Toshiro asked. Hyourinmaru blew out a breath, and the snow before him scattered.

 _"The answer depends on what the creature is. We will have to find the creature first."_

 _"Hopefully that won't take long."_

* * *

October dawned bright and hot. Even the birds, previously loud and cheerful, seemed to be hiding. His mood took a steep plunge, and he was more prone to snapping at anyone that came close to him. Thus, he had to look for something to keep him cool, and keep his temper at bay. After some thought, Toshiro went out to the Forbidden Forest like last year and froze a portion of it. He settled down on the cool ice, and watched as pale light reflected on the surrounding trees. The light wavered and danced, flickering around the clearing like false flames. He imagined it rising up, baring ivory fangs, amber eyes glowing with an unconcerned light.

The flames darted forward, coiling around him in graceful loops. Its elegant movements revealed a predatory nature, radiating secrecy and anguish. The flowing loops slowed, the flames laying dormant under simply laid scales. The creature's rope-like body rose up to a powerful head. An elongated snout contained dagger-like teeth and a forked red tongue. As it moved, the creature's glowing eyes left trails in the air, specks of light that drifted away in a nonexistent wind.

The creature moved its head down, one eye coming level with his. He watched it calmly, sensing its curiosity, unsure what he was, or if he was a friend or foe. It flicked its tongue out, touching his cheek. Its head bent, and it pulled away. The loops widened, and the creature disappeared back into the flames from whence it came.

Toshiro opened his eyes.

* * *

Over the next several weeks, the weather worsened into a full-blown storm, with rain pelting the windows and - thankfully - lowering the temperature. Rain seemed to calm him, somehow, as Toshiro found himself more relaxed during this time. He could tolerate the children's antics, he no longer wanted to disembowel Lockhart, and he could stand out in the rain for hours on end, letting it wash all his worries away.

Toshiro sat at his usual window, letting the water pour down onto one outstretched hand, watching as it gathered in his palm then spilled over, joining with the rain once again.

"Close the window!" Hermione stood next to him, shivering. "It's cold!"

"It's the absent of heat," Toshiro said plainly, turning his hand over. "The fire is warm; stand next to it."

"I don't understand how you can tolerate the cold, Hitsugaya." Hermione sat on the couch near the fire and put her hands out. "You seem to _like_ it."

"I do like it."

Hermione sighed, but didn't press any further. They were the only two in the common room, as the other Gryffindors were...somewhere. Toshiro didn't care about them, and spared no thoughts to their well-being or locations. They were the living, after all, and he was dead. It was his job to let them pass on, not take care of them in their lives.

Toshiro frowned. This was true - this had always been true - so why _did_ he care? It hadn't taken him long to think of the trio as _people_ , not just humans. _Why_ did he care? What was wrong with him?

Hyourinmaru made a soothing sound, but stayed silent. The dragon had been puzzling over the creature's identity ever since Toshiro had first heard the voice. They'd heard it several times since in various parts of the castle, but only when they were alone and usually at night. The longest Toshiro had managed to follow it was down to the dungeons, but he always lost it when it went through places he'd have to go around. By the time he arrived, it was already gone.

He'd managed to figure out one thing, however. It was moving in the walls. There was no other way it could go through the halls with such speed, or go unnoticed for all this time. October was already mostly over, and there had been no sighting of it, and he hadn't heard anyone talking about voices. Granted, he wasn't the most social - or really at all - person, but he still should have heard something just walking around. But there had been nothing.

He'd decided not to tell anyone. Hearing voices would make anyone worry, but he was more concerned that then the school would want to keep a closer eye on him. If so, he wouldn't be able to move freely.

There hadn't been a single Hollow this year. It puzzled him, since last year there had been quite a few, so he occasionally went out to study the barrier, but found nothing wrong with it. He supposed he should be grateful, but it made him uneasy. There was an atmosphere about this school, like something was about to happen, but no one had popped the bubble yet.

"A deathday party?"

Toshiro's head shot up at the words, alarm shooting through him. He looked over towards the couch, where Ron and Harry had joined Hermione.

"I bet there aren't many living people who can say they've been to one of those - it'll be fascinating!"

Toshiro was frozen. He didn't know what to do. How had they found out? How much did they know? What do-

"Yeah, I bet it'll be great," Ron said. "How old did Nick say he was going to be?"

"Five hundred."

Toshiro slid down in the window with a relieved sigh. He could hear Hyourinmaru chuckling. _"Oh, shut up,"_ he said wearily.

* * *

Toshiro was glad that he wasn't good friends with the trio. They had all promised to go to Nick's deathday party, and were going to be stuck in a freezing cold dungeon with no other children to annoy them...ghosts...adult company...dammit. That would probably be better than the Halloween feast.

He figured, however, that it would be considered extremely rude for someone - especially a Shinigami - to crash a deathday party. Although it could be amusing to run into it yelling: "Konso party!"

In any case, Toshiro had to suffer through a long dinner in the Great Hall with hundreds of children all babbling senselessly, all the while hoping that the bats flying around his head didn't mess in his food. This is _not_ what he would call a good time. He tolerated it for as much as he could, but eventually he just had to go.

And so, when everyone seemed most distracted, he slipped quietly out the doors, only opening them as much as he needed to get out. No one saw him leave.

That was how he came to be wandering around the second floor, looking for something to do but not really interested in anything. This was where he heard the voice, the same raspy, not quite Draconic voice he'd been hearing for the past month or so. And now that something caught his interest, he set off at a run, determined not to lose the voice this time.

 _"...rip...tear...kill..."_ He followed it down the halls, into deserted corridors and past dusty classrooms.

 _"...soo hungry...for so long..."_ The voice, still cold, held a tinge of something else, something he couldn't quite identify. He got the feeling it was important, but he just couldn't get it.

 _"...kill...time to kill..."_

He skidded to a stop, then turned and went sprinting down a side path. He was so close, if only he could just -

 _"...I smell blood...I SMELL BLOOD!"_

Turning one last corner, he came upon a scene he didn't think he'd ever see. Large words were written in a glinting red paint upon the walls, and written was:

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN

OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

He moved a little closer, and noticed that his usually silent steps splashed in water. Hanging underneath the words and attached to a torch bracket by her tail, was the caretaker's cat, Mrs. Norris. She was stiff, her eyes wide open and staring glossily. Her mouth was opened in a startled hiss, and the fur along her spine was bristling. She was so still that she had to be dead - she wasn't even breathing.

Toshiro heard a noise - slithering and snapping - and took off after it. He could hear shouting coming down the halls, but he ignored it, focusing instead on the sounds. It led him away from the dead cat, to the other side of the castle. It muffled, and when he hesitated before the door.

GIRLS' RESTROOM

Oh dear. Rangiku was going to kill him if she ever found out about this. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

* * *

 **As always, reviews are always welcome!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter/Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

The girls' restroom was surprisingly large and bright inside, but the air was extremely damp. There was a row of stalls to his left, but what caught his interest was the ring of sinks in the middle. They were standard, but spread out, and in their middle was a large dark hole. And going into the hole he caught a glimpse of the tip of something - a tail, probably.

The sinks started to grind close, and without really thinking, he lunged forward, just making it as the sinks closed above him.

He was falling, falling through a dark, wet hole with no idea of what he was facing and nothing but his wand. He had soul candy, of course, but it would take time to get out of his gigai, and that was time the enemy would use to attack him. He had rushed in blindly, without taking precautions.

What an Ichigo thing to do.

However, Toshiro was smarter than the orange haired idiot. He could keep a calm head in situations the Substitute would wet himself in.

And so, he gathered reishi under him, stopping his descent. Looking around, he could see that he was in the largest tunnel, with many other, smaller ones branching off. When he looked up, he couldn't see a light. The sinks must form a good seal.

Toshiro lowered himself down, following the main tunnel. It soon leveled out, and he let the reishi dissipate, dropping to the stone floor. The air was cold and surprisingly fresh, meaning that there must be some ventilation. There was moss on the walls that let out a strong blue light, enough that he didn't have to use his wand. He could tell that he was far under the castle - even farther than the dungeons.

The room he was in was small, the floor covered in bones, and the ceiling low and jagged. He could see a tunnel on the other side, so he entered, cursing the fact that he couldn't walk without crunching some bones. Well, whatever lived here knew he was coming.

The tunnel continued for some time, with smaller passages leading away. He ignored them, following the main one. Despite his good sense of direction, he didn't want to get lost.

Eventually the tunnel led into another room, and that room had another tunnel leading away. He followed it, wand out and ready to defend himself if need be. Finally he reached another room, and on the opposite two carved snakes intertwined, their eyes set with glinting emeralds. Toshiro approached and put his hand against one; it was wet to the touch.

 _What do I do now?_ he wondered, looking around. He could go back and investigate some of the other tunnels, but they could be extensive, and he had no way of knowing which direction he was facing or what time it was. He could easily get lost down here and have to blast his way back up.

Taking a step back, he looked again at the serpents. Their mouths were open, fangs bared, and their coiling bodies almost seem to move in the moss' light. Around them was an outline: two halves, like a-

 _"Like a door,"_ Hyourinmaru hissed. _"But how to get it open."_

There were no handles on the wall or any seams that he could see. He pushed the middle, but it was unmovable. The snakes' eyes glared down at him, challenging him to find the answer. For there _was_ an answer. There was _always_ an answer.

"Do you think there's a password?" Toshiro asked, not bothering to think his question. There was no one around to think him mad.

 _"Perhaps...but this was likely built hundreds of years ago. The humans wouldn't have had the technology for that then."_

"Then...something I have to press? Or - turn? Something to do with the snakes?" He ran his hands over the snakes, pushing, pulling, and twisting the eyes, but nothing budged. After several minutes, he sat back with a huff. "There's nothing!"

 _"Of course there is,"_ Hyourinmaru said soothingly. _"We just haven't figured it out yet. Let's start at the beginning; perhaps that'll give us clues."_

"Fine...I heard a voice a few weeks ago, but when I followed it, it disappeared. I kept hearing it but could never find it, but not long ago I heard it again and followed it. It led to a corridor where Mrs. Norris had been killed, and there were words written in red paint on the wall. I followed the creature's sounds to the bathroom, where I saw a tail going down a hole that was formed when the sinks pulled apart. I jumped in, went down the tunnel, and..." He stopped, a thought occurring to him. "What if it _is_ password protected?"

 _"Master, we already covered this,"_ Hyourinmaru rumbled disapprovingly.

"Yes, we covered the _technology_ of it, but this is a _magic_ school. Chances are they'd use magic."

 _"What are you thinking?"_

Toshiro started pacing, his mind working overtime. "I heard a voice...that's when this all started. What creatures do we know of that can talk?"

 _"A parrot?"_

"No, something magical. I thought I remembered reading something about creatures...The language, what was it?"

 _"I don't know,"_ Hyourinmaru answered, starting to sound annoyed. _"Would you speak plainly? The ice is cracking."_

"Sorry. I mean, we only know where it is because of the voice. It's talking, and we can sort of understand it - you said it has the same base language as Draconic. That means whatever creature speaks it must be similar to dragons."

 _"Ah,"_ Hyourinmaru said, understanding. _"Well, there are only a few species similar to us. Alligators, crocodiles, snakes, lizards - mainly reptilian species."_

"Snakes!" Toshiro pointed triumphantly at the carved snakes. "It _has_ to be snakes."

 _"That's all well and good, but we still don't know how to open the door."_

"Well, the snake had to have come through here. To do that, it had to open the door, and snakes don't exactly have good dexterity, so..." He looked at the door and said in Draconic, "Open."

The serpents parted as the wall cracked open, sliding smoothly out of sight. Toshiro smirked. "Not password protected - _language_ protected."

 _"That took some time and effort,"_ Hyourinmaru sighed.

"At least it's open." He walked through the door.

He stood at the end of a very long, dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, black shadows through the bluish gloom that filled the place. He went forward cautiously, and the back of the room slowly came into light. There was one massive stone person carved there - a wizard with a long, thin beard standing hunched on the floor. There were two long channels of water alongside the pathway and ringing the room. He could see more, smaller passages leading into the room, and there were bridges spanning over the water.

Toshiro gripped his wand tighter, and spun when he heard a slithering noise. Coiling down the wizard's body was a great serpent, dark green in color, and a long, blunt head. It hissed softly as it reached the ground, then raised its great head and looked at him. He met its glowing amber eyes.

* * *

Everyone was talking about what had happened. Everywhere he went, people were shooting him odd looks, whispering and staring behind his back. Harry tried to ignore them, but it reminded him of last year, when he had lost almost all of Gryffindor's points. He had been met with animosity then, and he felt it now.

He went through his routine, getting up, eating in the Great Hall, going to his first class, but he couldn't concentrate in his classes. Even Hermione was having trouble paying attention. She was spending more time than ever in books, and could even be seen reading during class.

Harry was so preoccupied that he didn't notice the absence of one small, white-haired boy.

"Where is Mr. Hitsugaya?" He started at the question, and looked around guiltily, just noticing for the first time in two days that the boy wasn't there. A quick glance showed that Hermione and Ron were just as confused and ashamed.

"Has anyone seen him?" Professor McGonagall asked again, a bit exasperated. "It's not like him to miss two days of class."

"I haven't seen him since Halloween, Professor," Hermione said, tentatively raising a hand. Ron and Harry shook their heads. McGonagall frowned.

They were just beginning Transfigurations, and the Professor had finished taking roll. Whispers broke out among the students, to which the Professor's mouth thinned. "No," she said in response to a question. "He has not been taken by the Chamber."

"How do you know?" a girl in the back called. "You didn't even know it had been opened until just a few days ago!"

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth to reply, but the opening door distracted her. Her annoyed expression turned to one of surprise, and all the students immediately turned to see who had come in.

Perhaps they had said his name one too many times, and he was here to kill them all just so he could get some sleep. That was just one of the silly rumors Harry heard floating around.

"I apologize for my tardiness, Professor," Toshiro said, giving her a quick bow and sitting in the back of the class. "I was feeling unwell."

McGonagall quickly wiped her expression clear again, but throughout the rest of the class she would give Toshiro pointed stares. "That is good to hear." She turned to her blackboard, but Harry continued to try and catch the Japanese kid's eye.

He finally succeeded, but the boy simply glared back at him. Harry turned back to the lesson.

* * *

Once the children had finally turned their attention back to Professor McGonagall, Toshiro slumped down in his seat with a barely audible sigh. He ran a hand through his hair, wanting nothing more at that moment than to go to sleep.

He avoided contact with any student or teacher that day, fearing that his patience would snap and he'd freeze the whole school. That would raise unwanted questions, so he simply wanted to stay away from them. So, he'd fled to the library - which most students tended to avoid - and sat by the window. Unfortunately, the Trio were extremely persistent and had a knack for annoying him.

"Here he is! Ron, Harry - over here!" Toshiro looked up, saw Hermione standing at the end of the bookshelves, and sighed. He snapped closed his book, resting it in his lap as he waited for them to bombard him with questions. He was not disappointed.

"Where were you?" Hermione asked. "We didn't see you for two days!"

"No, you didn't," Toshiro said. He regarded them with cold eyes. "Why do you care?"

Hermione looked a little surprised, and it was Ron who answered. "We're your friends, mate."

"People do not become my friends."

 _"Thanks,"_ Hyourinmaru snorted.

He stood and grabbed his bag, holding up the book so that it floated back to its spot on the shelf. He attempted to get past the three children, but Harry blocked his path. "Why can't you just open up?" he asked, clearly frustrated. "We want to help!"

Even though Harry was taller, Toshiro looked him in the eye. "Help with what? You do not know me."

"I don't know! Whatever your problem is!"

"I do not have a problem." Again he tried to get past, but Harry grabbed his arm. Toshiro shook him off. "Do not touch me." He stalked away, leaving three very confused humans behind.

 _"What has gotten into you lately?"_ Hyourinmaru asked, tone light but obviously concerned. _"You aren't normally this hostile towards the humans."_

 _"I don't know,"_ Toshiro responded, walking without really knowing where he was going. _"I just...keep feeling like they're my friends, but then I remind myself that I can't get attached to them. I'm on a mission, and I can't get distracted."_

Hyourinmaru was silent for several minutes, and when he spoke, it was so soft that Toshiro had to strain to hear it. _"You are not in Soul Society. There are no Shinigami around to judge you."_

 _"That's not it."_ Toshiro walked out the doors, and started making his way down the hill.

 _"Isn't it?"_

 _"It isn't!"_ They were silent until he reached the lake. It was a surprisingly clear day, and the sun was sparkling off the water. He stared out, hearing the waves lap against the sand and rocks, the giant squid splashing out in the deeper parts, the wind skipping off the surface. Further down the shore were two other students sitting close together, their hands clasped.

 _"Master...come here."_

 _"Why?"_ Toshiro's voice sounded hollow even to his own ears.

 _"Just come here."_

With a sigh, Toshiro laid down in the shade of a tree and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was hit with thick, wet sludge, and a bitter wind. Toshiro looked around at his gray inner world in surprise. "Something really is wrong."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. You haven't been listening."

Toshiro looked up at the ice dragon sitting atop a mound of snow, the wind whipping sleet into his eyes. Hyourinmaru flicked his head irritably.

"Rest, Master. I will watch over you."

"I don't need rest; I've got to-"

"Master." Toshiro met Hyourinmaru's crimson eyes, and they were burning with a strange light. "You need rest."

In that instant, Toshiro knew there was no arguing. He sighed again and climbed up the snow pile. Hyourinmaru shifted so his back was to the wind, creating a little pocket that was clear. Toshiro settled down in it, and glared up at his dragon. Hyourinmaru put his head down, closing his own eyes for emphasis. Toshiro sighed again, but tried to relax. Soon the wind died down, and the stinging hail that had accompanied it dropped away. The angry clouds cleared, and the sun shown down.

Hyourinmaru quietly raised his head and looked down at his Shinigami. The boy was sleeping peacefully, the stress and worry smoothed from his face. Hyourinmaru sighed.

* * *

Toshiro woke a few hours later, feeling much better. He was refreshed, and the pent up anger seemed to have eased. He looked around, seeing how low the sun was in the sky, and slowly started making his way back to the castle.

Once inside, he headed up to the second floor bathroom, looking around before going in. He approached the sink, but a high and whiny voice stopped him. "Back again?"

He sighed, turning and leaning against the sink. "Yes, Myrtle."

The ghost of the young girl floated from her stall. She glared at him from behind large, round glasses. "Your pet has been getting anxious."

"She's not my pet," Toshiro said exasperatedly, absently playing with a strap on his bag. "We have a mutual respect for each other."

Myrtle snorted, turning upside down. "Right. Just keep _it_ away from me."

"If you met her, you'd find that she's-"

"Well, if you're going to be that way, I won't tell you."

"Tell me what?" He followed her as she floated around the restroom. "Myrtle..."

The ghost giggled, but not out of amusement. "You'll find out." With one last, highly pitched squeal, she dove back into her toilet. Toshiro watched her go, annoyed at the ghost. He really wished he could preform konso on her. Then, shaking his head, he spoke a word in Draconic to the sinks, and they slid apart enough for him to slide down into.

* * *

 _They had an intense staring contest for a few minutes, in which neither blinked nor moved. It was utterly silent in the room as the two faced off. Then it snorted, moving closer. Toshiro raised his wand in warning, and it stopped a few feet away._

 _"What are you?" it asked in its raspy voice, head swaying._

 _"Shinigami," Toshiro answered. "And you?"_

 _It studied him, its pupils narrow. "Your tongue...not mine."_

 _"No. It's Draconic. You speak Parselmouth. They have the same base language and are close enough so that we can understand one another. I repeat - what are you?"_

 _It flicked out a forked tongue, then dipped its head. "I am a basilisk."_

 _"A basilisk?" Toshiro thought back to the books he had read. Oh. "You're the one that can kill people if you look them in the eye."_

 _"Yes."_

 _Toshiro lowered his wand, but didn't return it to his boot. "Are you the one that killed Mrs. Norris?"_

 _"Who?"_

 _"The cat from an hour ago."_

 _The basilisk raised its chin and flicked out its tongue. "No. The creature did not look me in the eyes. It saw my reflection in the water. I expect it is only Petrified."_

 _"Why did you want to kill her?"_

 _The serpent hissed. "I am hungry. I have not eaten for too long."_ _Well, that was understandable. "Why are you not dead? You looked at my eyes."_

 _"I am already dead." The basilisk hissed even louder and reared back, suddenly seeming much larger._

 _"How?"_

 _"I come from a place called Soul Society. It is the place where souls go when they die. I am in a fake body - a gigai - so humans can see me."_

 _The basilisk relaxed, drawing a bit closer. "And...you will not die if you look at me?"_

 _"I am already dead," Toshiro repeated warily. He didn't expect what the serpent did next._

 _It lunged forward, wrapping around him. He yelped in surprise, but it wasn't crushing him. In fact, it was making an odd sound, one much like - purring?_

 _"Would you stay with me?" it asked, looked at him with suddenly soft eyes. "I have been alone here for almost all my life. I have been asleep, but there has been no one. Now you can be with me and not die. I can talk to you."_

 _Toshiro didn't know what to say to this. "Um - sure?"_

 _It made that odd sound again, and rubbed its head against him. He stumbled, off balance. The basilisk hissed, and he realized it was laughing. "I am called Sigruna."_

 _"You're female?" Toshiro asked in surprise. The basilisk nodded, eyes glowing brightly. "Hm. I am Toshiro Hitsugaya."_

* * *

The basilisk had been so happy to have someone to talk to that it had been some time before he could leave the Chamber. It had been interesting to listen to Sigruna, but also exhausting, considering the problems they had in communicating. Toshiro was nowhere close to an expert in Draconic, and while Hyourinmaru would chip in to help, it was hard. Sigruna had also been asleep for a long time, and some of the terms Toshiro used weren't familiar to her, so he had to stop and explain them. This got frustrating, but it reminded him of how he had to explain everything to the new recruits. They'd gone through the Academy, but they all seemed so lost.

"Sigruna!" he called, entering the main chamber. "I've got some chicken for you!"

It took a minute, but he heard the familiar slithering sound as she entered through one of the side tunnels. She coiled around him as he opened his pack, dumping out two chickens. He had stolen them from the hundreds that Hagrid kept, but he worried that it might not be enough. Sigruna always seemed to be hungry, and what he brought didn't satisfy her.

He watched with morbid fascination as she scooped them up, one by one, and swallowed them whole. "Do you taste it?" he asked curiously. The scales along her back lifted in what he equated to a shrug.

"They're old," she answered, a little grumpily. "I like fresh food."

"I apologize, but it is impossible to get them to you immediately afterwards."

"I know." She flicked out her tongue and moved into one of the water channels, submersing her entire body except for her head, which she rested on the walkway and stared at him. "Tell me about your plans," she said.

Toshiro sighed, sitting down next to her. "I'm going to find a room in here and fill it with things to make me more comfortable so I can spend more time down here. It's cool," he added. "I'll bring a chair...maybe a couch, if I shrink it. Bookshelves, so I can read down here."

Sigruna made a soft hissing sound, shifting her head slightly. "I look forward to it. But...what are bookshelves?"

Toshiro sighed.

* * *

 **I've always felt a bit bad for the basilisk. It's cooped up in the Chamber for how many years, and when it finally can leave, it's under Riddle's control and almost immediately gets killed by Harry. You'd think it'd get lonely.**

 **Anyway, reviews are always welcome! Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter/Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

It had been only four days after the attack on Mrs. Norris when someone asked Professor Binns about the Chamber of Secrets in History of Magic class. In this class, even Toshiro had a hard time staying awake. There was something about his voice - dull, flat, droning on and on and on - that just seemed to put everyone out. It was well-known in Hogwarts that if you needed to catch up on your sleep, you should go visit one of Binns's lectures. You'd be out like a light.

No one ever talked - they were all sleeping - no one took notes, and no one asked questions. It was expected that you'd come in, sit, and fall asleep for the next hour. That's why it was so surprising when Hermione's hand rose, and Professor Binns eventually looked up, stopping right in the middle of a lecture about the International Warlock Convention of 1289.

"Miss - er - ?"

"Granger, sir," Hermione replied, gratefully putting down her hand. "I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets."

Like everyone else, Toshiro was suddenly alert. He turned in his seat to watch the witch, wondering what she knew. Around him, students that had been daydreaming, staring out the window, or actually sleeping were now staring at her, but she didn't seem nervous. She kept her gaze fixed on the surprised teacher.

"My subject is History of Magic," Professor Binns said disapprovingly. "I deal with _facts_ , Miss Granger, not myths or legends." He started to continue his lesson, and most students immediately started to doze off, but Toshiro continued to glare at Hermione as she raised her hand again. He was uncomfortable with anyone trying to learn more about the Chamber of Secrets, as they might learn of Sigruna's existence. And that was something that must be kept silent.

"Please sir," Hermione said suddenly, interrupting Professor Binns in the middle of his lecture. "Don't legends always have a basis in fact?"

She had a point. There was always something that sparked rumors, which then spread and mutated like an incurable disease. Despite the end result, _something_ had to have started them off. Toshiro then twisted around and gave Binns his best glare, to which the ghost was too surprised with Hermione to see. Toshiro felt something akin to worry starting to make its way through him. If anyone knew the truth about the Chamber, it was the History Professor.

He drummed his fingers on his desk as Binns started the tale, with _everyone_ watching.

"You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago - the precise date is uncertain - by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution."

A thousand years? It really wasn't that old, then. Toshiro wondered briefly how old Sigruna really was. If she had been here since the beginning, it was no wonder she was so clingy.

"For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more _selective_ about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school.

"Reliable historical sources tell us this much," he continued. "But these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes on that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing.

"Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

The classroom was silent as each student processed what had been said. Toshiro had been following the story closely, determined to interrupt if there was any information that would compromise Sigruna's safety. He stilled at 'horror within', but decided that it was far from enough. But of _course_ Hermione had to pry further.

"Sir - what exactly do you mean by the 'horror within' the Chamber?"

"That is believed to be some sort of monster, which the Heir of Slytherin alone can control."

"There is no proof that there is anything in it," Toshiro said suddenly, causing everyone's gazes to swing back to him. He made eye contact with the teacher, giving him a silent warning not to say anything further. "And if there is something there, there is no proof that it is dangerous."

The class was in an immediate uproar. Finally Ron stood and the others quieted. "Of course there's proof!" he shouted angrily. "A cat got Petrified! What other proof do you need?!"

"A witch or a wizard could have done that," Toshiro replied calmly, aware that he needed to choose his words carefully. "I ask you: does it have to be a creature? Perhaps the legend of something within is not anything sentient, but an artifact or something of that nature which gives the Heir the ability to wreak havoc upon the school."

"That is true," Binns said in the brief lull that followed. "And if there _was_ something in there, it would have died long ago. Now, we will return, if you please, to _history_ , to solid, believable, veritable _fact_!"

"But sir-" Seamus Finnigan began, only to be cut off.

"Enough!"

And that was that. Within a few minutes, most of the class was once again asleep, with the notable exception of the trio. They were softly talking and shooting curious looks over at Toshiro. He sighed. The three were going to do something, and he needed to do everything in his power to make sure that Sigruna was not found.

* * *

Toshiro was making his way back to the Gryffindor common room when he felt some grab his shoulder, stopping his momentum and swinging him around. Toshiro reacted immediately, latching onto the hand and forcing it off of him. "What is so important that you feel the need to touch me?" he asked calmly, releasing his iron grip around Ron's wrist. The boy pulled back, rubbing his wrist.

"Geez, I just wanted to talk," he muttered sullenly. "What happened over the summer to make you so cold?"

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes before Harry broke it. "Not the summer. You're really just been like this since Halloween."

Hermione nodded her agreement, and all three looked to Toshiro. He sighed. "My apologizes. I have not been getting adequate sleep."

Ron snorted, but let it go. "Whatever. Anyway, why do you think that there isn't a monster in the Chamber?"

Toshiro shrugged, turning and setting off again. The trio followed him. "There are hundreds of children in this castle, a dozen teachers, and many ghosts. If there really was a monster, don't you think someone would have seen it?"

They pushed their way through the throng of students and started up a stairway. "Maybe," Hermione said slowly. "But students aren't allowed out at night. The teachers sleep. It's possible for a monster to get around unnoticed..."

"How likely is that?" Toshiro took a deep breath and tried to get his voice to sound a little warmer. If he wanted to keep an eye on the kids, then he had to become their friend. "It is much more likely that a student Petrified Mrs. Norris so he or she could stir up the school and cause something interesting to happen."

"We're at a magical school," Ron muttered. "Does it really need to be more interesting?"

"I agree, Hitsugaya," Hermione said, ignoring Ron. "But the fact that Dumbledore couldn't cure Mrs. Norris makes me think that it _isn't_ human."

"I suppose." He really didn't like where this conversation was going. Then they turned the corner and found themselves standing before the hallway where Mrs. Norris had been attacked. The words were still painted on the wall, but the water on the floor was gone and now there was a chair against the wall.

"That's where Filch has been keeping guard," Ron muttered.

As the trio spread out along the hall to search for clues, Toshiro went up to the wall and stared at the words. The paint had dried in streaks, looking too much like the bloody streaks underneath Aizen's body when he had 'died'. Toshiro blinked and stretched out a hand to touch the paint. It did not feel like paint.

"This is blood," he said, turning and seeing the trio standing at a window watching a line of spiders scuttling to get out. Ron had backed away, and it looked like the other two were mocking him. "Scared of spiders, Weasley?" he scoffed, moving forward to stand next to the suddenly pale boy. Ron simply gave him a weak glare. Toshiro shook his head.

"Did you see this, Toshiro?" Harry gestured at the spiders. Toshiro scowled but moved forward.

"It is Hitsugaya, Potter."

At least the boy had the grace to look slightly sorry.

"Why would spiders be doing this?" Toshiro murmured, watching the spiders fight to leave.

"Hey, the water was mopped up." Ron, Hermione, and Toshiro turned to Harry, who was staring at the floor.

"Yes, they tend to do that," Toshiro said dryly. Harry shook his head.

"No. Well, yes - that's not my point! Where did it come from?"

They looked around, and it didn't take them long to figure it out. They stood in front of the door, debating whether or not to go in. Toshiro was firmly on the side _not_ to enter. He lost.

 _Don't find the entrance, don't find the entrance, don't find the entrance, don't find the entrance._

The four entered Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

It was the same as usual inside. Toshiro immediately went over and leaned against one of the stalls, hoping to avoid having the three notice too much about the sinks. It seemed luck wasn't on his side that day, as the inhabitant of the place rose from her toilet.

"Oh, you again," she said to Toshiro, not noticing the trio a few feet away. "Come to see it again?"

"Shut up, Myrtle," Toshiro hissed, shooting a glance at the puzzled trio. She zoomed over to them.

"Oh," she said again, voice rising with excitement. "Are they sacrifices?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He glared at her. "Now shut up and go back to your toilet."

She giggled. "Nope. I think I'll have fun right here!"

"Toshiro, do you come in here often?" Ron asked looking worried. Toshiro sighed. Time to lie.

"It is cold in here, and no one ever comes in. I can read without being interrupted."

Myrtle giggled, floating behind the trio. She pointed at the sinks. Toshiro shook his head minutely, hoping she would get the message.

"What do you mean by sacrifices?" Harry asked, looking up just as Myrtle lowered her arm.

"Nothing." Her smile was cold and calculating, reminding Toshiro too much of Gin. Then she moved behind Toshiro, putting her hands on his shoulders and whispering in his ear, "Got you."

He swatted angrily at her, but she leaned back, falling into the tile floor only to come up a moment later a few few away. "Good luck," she giggled to the trio, and splashed back into her toilet. There was a stunned silence in which the only sound was the dripping of water from somewhere. Toshiro glared at the floor, refusing to look at the trio.

"What was that?" Hermione asked, thoroughly confused.

"Nothing," Toshiro sighed. "She likes to annoy me."

"Whatever," Ron said, moving around the bathroom - sadly going to the sinks. "But you really can't find anywhere better than the girls' toilet to read?"

"No. There's an 'OUT OF ORDER' sign on the door; no one ever comes in."

They stayed in for only a few more minutes before leaving. Toshiro was the last one out, and let out a large sigh of relief before a loud yell made him jump. "RON!"

Standing at the head of the stairs was yet another Weasley - Percy. He was staring at them in shock, although his angry gaze was fixed on Ron. Toshiro edged away as the older (in appearance) boy stormed towards them and waved them away from the door.

"Get - away - from - there -" He flapped his arms wildly, and they ducked away to avoid getting slapped. "Don't you _care_ what this looks like? Coming back here while everyone's at dinner-"

"Why shouldn't we be here?" Ron said hotly, stopping short and glaring at his older brother. "Listen, we never laid a finger on that cat!"

This was awkward. Much too awkward for his taste. Toshiro continued edging away down the corridor as the brothers fought. Finally they broke away, and the trio jogged to catch up with the Shinigami - who was fairly far away by now.

"Thanks for the help," Ron huffed. Toshiro shrugged.

"Monsters are one thing. Older siblings are another."

* * *

They were in the common room later that night when Ron suddenly slammed his Charms books shut. Surprisingly, Hermione followed suit.

"Who can it be, though?" she asked quietly. The boys leaned forward, and Toshiro climbed off the windowsill so that he could hear. "Who'd _want_ to frighten all the Squibs and Muggle-borns out of Hogwarts?"

"Let's think," Ron said in mock puzzlement. "Who do we know who thinks Muggle-borns are scum?"

He looked around at the group. "Professor Snape?" Toshiro offered. The trio rolled their eyes.

"Malfoy!"

"Oh."

"You heard him - _'You'll be next, Mudbloods!'_ \- come on, you've only got to look at his foul rat face to know it's him-"

"Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"Look at his family," Harry chipped in, closing his books. "The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin; he's always boasting about it. They could easily be Slytherin's descendants. His father's definitely evil enough."

Toshiro sighed, and they looked over at him. "Malfoy's only twelve; he's not going to go around murdering people."

"Mrs. Norris."

"She's Petrified, not dead. Besides, she's a cat. Killing an animal's not like killing a human."

There was silence for a moment. "I worry about you, Toshiro."

"It's Hitsugaya."

There was another long silence. "How do we prove it?" Harry asked. Ron shrugged, Toshiro sat on the back of the couch, and Hermione tapped her finger on the table, deep in thought.

"There has to be a way..." she murmured, eyes distant.

After another silence, Toshiro fought the urge to roll his eyes. These kids would be _terrible_ at battle strategy! He decided to help them out. "Think about it logically," he said suddenly, and their eyes snapped to him. "We need to talk to Malfoy; obviously he's going to know if he's the heir or not. Now, he won't talk to anyone outside of Slytherin. Therefore, we need to have a Slytherin talk to him and report back to us. This person needs to be trustworthy and preferably be someone Malfoy will be willing to open up to. This presents a problem. Anyone close to Malfoy is not going to talk to us. There. Go."

"What's with the 'we'?" Ron grinned. "You on board?"

"Of course I am," Toshiro sighed. "I'm a Muggle-born, so it concerns me, too. I have no intention of getting Petrified, thank you."

"You're right, Hitsugaya," Hermione said, completely ignoring Ron. The Weasley sat back looking annoyed. "We need someone close to Malfoy, but anyone with his trust isn't going to talk to us. Do you two have any suggestions?"

She looked to Ron and Harry, who shook their heads. Toshiro sighed again, looking towards the common room door as the twins entered. They looked around for a moment, spotted the four second years, and headed over their way. The matching grins on their faces told him that they were planning something.

"Hey, Ron, you want to help us with something?"

Ron looked decidedly uncomfortable. "No."

"Oh, come on, Ronnie! We need help, and you're the only one we can turn to!"

"Yeah, right."

"Won't you help your brothers out? Just this once?"

"No, Fred!"

"I'm not Fred, I'm George." The twins grinned and switched places. Toshiro soon got bored of this and looked elsewhere. He noticed Hermione had a thoughtful expression on her face.

 _She's probably come up with a solution already. That's good. I'd like to go out. It's too hot in here. Too bad I can't just freeze the place. Heh. Give everyone a heart attack. Then they'd die and I'd have to send them on...then I could be alone here! Perfect!_

 _"I can see why the humans are concerned about you,"_ Hyourinmaru sighed.

 _"Perhaps, but I'm doing better than most Shinigami would have. Zaraki would have challenged Dumbledore to a fight the moment he felt his reiatsu."_

 _"It is best that they do not meet."_

 _"Agreed."_

Toshiro was brought out of his mental conversation by a hand waving two inches from his face. He blinked and looked at Hermione. "What?" he asked irritably.

"Did you hear our plan?"

"No." He leaned back and crossed his arms.

"Polyjuice Potion!"

Toshiro thought it over. "That would work. Well done."

Hermione frowned. "We're not dogs. You don't have to get that tone with us."

"What tone?"

"Like we just did a trick and you gave us a bone," Ron said, and launched into a long speech - his voice twisted and raised to an almost unbearable pitch, of course. Harry and Hermione laughed while Toshiro talked to his dragon again.

 _"What tone?"_

 _"You sounded like you were praising your subordinates."_

 _"Oh."_ Toshiro contemplated that for a moment. _"Perhaps I should bring meaty treats to our next training session."_

 _"Would you care to explain that?"_

 _"Well, if I give them something to work towards, then they should improve."_

Hyourinmaru chuckled and flexed his wings. _"Where would you get dog treats?"_

Toshiro shrugged. _"I think I saw a pet store one time. That'd be a good place to start."_

 _"Or you could hide them around the seventh division."_

 _"Heh. We're a good match."_

 _"How so?"_

 _"I come up with_ _basics and you complete the plan so we achieve maximum chaos."_

Hyourinmaru chuckled but stayed silent.

* * *

 _This mission really is good for him,_ Hyourinmaru thought to himself, watching as Toshiro planned out how they would make the Polyjuice Potion with the other children. _The old man did well to choose him._

Hyourinmaru dug his claws into the snow covered ledge below him and unfurled his massive wings. _Hopefully he can learn to act his age, for once._

The ice dragon soared over the inner world, studying it with a keen eye. He banked widely, glad to feel the wind against his face and the open sky under him. He let out a loud roar, shaking loose clumps of snow from the mountain tops. He slowed to watch one of the avalanches, then turned and moved on.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter and Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Standing on the head of a basilisk while attempting to redecorate the Chamber of Secrets was not something Toshiro ever thought he would be doing. Even as he was doing it he was silently questioning the logic behind this. It would have been much simpler to just stand on some gathered reishi, but no, the basilisk just _had_ to freak out when she saw him standing on air.

"A bit higher," he said, and she lifted her head a little. After another minute of fussing with the ice, he took a small step back. "There. Done."

Sigruna flicked out her tongue. "And you're sure it won't melt?"

"I'm sure. It's held together with my reiatsu. As long as I'm alive, it'll stay frozen."

Sigruna pulled back, and he could see the whole thing. Toshiro nodded, satisfied.

Where there had once been a large statue of an old wizard - he presumed it was Salazar Slytherin - now stood an equally tall ice statue of Sigruna. It had taken him a while practicing with Hyourinmaru before he could get it to look like her, and a couple days to be able to color the ice. Now it looked like an exact replica of the basilisk. Her lower body was coiled in loose rings with her head rising up, her mouth open in a snarl and her fangs glinting menacingly.

"Are you sure you don't want it to look more...inviting?"

Sigruna shook her head suddenly, causing him to fall flat on his back. He cursed quietly as he got up. "No," the basilisk replied, studying the statue. "I like it."

"Good," Toshiro nodded. He looked off to the side, where a large mound of smashed stone was piled. "And you're sure you know where to put that?"

Sigruna nodded, but this time he braced himself. For a thousand year old creature, she could be amazingly clueless. "There are many other tunnels that I do not use."

Toshiro looked at his soul phone and sighed. "I've got to go or I'll be late."

"Do you have to?" She adopted a whiny tone but started making her way through the tunnels, stopping briefly to let him retrieve his bag.

"Sadly," Toshiro answered, ducking so his head wouldn't be taken off by the stone. "The trio are going to trick Lockhart into letting them get a rare book, and I need to be there to make sure they don't screw it up."

"They can do it on their own."

Toshiro opened his mouth to tell her that they were trying to figure out what Sigruna was, but thought better of it. If she knew people were looking for her, she might panic, and there was no telling what she might do then.

"Perhaps," Toshiro said softly, and rode the rest of the way in silence.

* * *

Toshiro's urge to run Lockhart through with his zanpakuto was intensified when the Shinigami was called on in class to help reenact the story of how Lockhart subdued a werewolf. He motioned the boy up with a false smile meant to put him at ease. Toshiro crossed his arms.

"No," he said bluntly. Lockhart looked genuinely shocked.

"No?"

Toshiro raised his chin, locking his eyes onto the teacher's. Lockhart quailed, breaking away to look about the room. "Fine, then...Potter. Come up here, would you?"

Harry gave Toshiro a glare before reluctantly heading up to the front of the room. He was the one who usually had to do this, and took as long as he could to get up there.

"Stand here. Now howl - yes, I mean it. Howl. Go on. Louder, Harry. Good boy." Lockhart proceeded to tell them how he had defeated a fully grown werewolf while it had transformed. Too bad it hadn't ripped his heart out.

Toshiro sighed and barely paid attention to the rest of the class. He wrote down the instructions for their homework, then stood waiting with the trio as they prepared to ask Lockhart for permission to get into the Restricted Section.

Once all the students had left, they went up to the Professor, who was writing on a paper. "Professor?" Hermione asked, clearly nervous. "I wanted to - to get this book out of the library. Just for background reading." She held out the paper, her hand shaking. "But the thing is, it's in the Restricted Section of the library, so I need a teacher to sign for it - I'm sure it would help me understand what you say in _Gadding with Ghouls_ about slow-acting venoms-"

"Ah, _Gadding with Ghouls_!" Lockhart said, taking the note and signing his name in large, loopy writing under the words. He handed it back without even reading it. "Possibly my very favorite book. You enjoyed it?"

"Oh, yes," Hermione said eagerly. "So clever, the way you trapped that last one with a tea-strainer-"

Toshiro cleared his throat, and Hermione jumped.

"Y-yes, thank you, Professor!"

They hurried out, and once they were outside, the trio high-fived. "He bought it!" Ron laughed. "He really must be a brainless git."

"That has been established," Toshiro said, heading down the hall in a familiar direction. "Have you noticed that he never uses his wand? There must be a very good reason for that, considering he teaches _Defense_ Against the Dark Arts."

"No, he's an amazing wizard," Hermione protested, walking quickly to keep up with him. "All the things he's done - they're incredible!"

"He is a fool," Toshiro said with a finality that signaled the end of that particular conversation. They didn't speak again until they arrived at the library. "Good afternoon, Madam Pince," he said to the librarian with a small bow. The woman smiled at him, which was very much unlike the normal thin, annoyed look she gave to most students."

"Good afternoon," she greeted him, then saw who was with him and her smile disappeared. "Welcome," she said coldly. Toshiro took the note from Hermione - who, for some reason, didn't seem to want to let it go - and handed it to Madam Pince.

" _Moste Potente Potions_?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," Toshiro said, speaking before Hermione could attempt to come up with a passable excuse. "I have exhausted most of the books in the library and decided to broaden my horizons."

"Very well." She disappeared into the shelves. The trio turned to him.

" _How_ did you do that?" Ron asked, amazed. Toshiro simply regarded him calmly.

"I spend much time here."

Madam Pince arrived soon after, carrying an old book with thick leather binding. "Treat it well," she said, eyeing it as Hermione slid it into her bag. Toshiro had a suspicion the woman had wanted him to keep hold of it.

"Thank you for your assistance," Toshiro said, giving her another small bow. "It is appreciated."

"Of course." She gave him a warm smile. "Come by anytime. The library is always open."

Toshiro nodded curtly, then turned on his heel and followed the three children out of the library.

* * *

They sat in a loose circle in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Toshiro had been against going back in, but Hermione wouldn't take no for an answer. He wondered how he, a Captain of the Gotei 13, had been bested by a twelve year old girl. He really needed to go back to Soul Society and practice his glare on some division members.

Hermione held the old book on her lap and was flipping slowly through it. Toshiro sat beside her also reading it, at a considerably quicker pace. Ron and Harry were sitting across from them, talking about Harry's upcoming Quidditch game with Slytherin on Saturday. Toshiro tolerated this situation for some time until he couldn't take it anymore.

"I'll do it." He took the book from Hermione, ignoring her protests. He then proceeded to skim through it, eyes never staying on a page for longer than a few seconds. Hermione watched with fascination as he sped through the book.

After many years of paperwork, Toshiro had quickly learned that the best way to get through it was speed. You didn't need to take in every word as long as you understood the key points. And so, after all this practice, he quickly found what he was looking for.

"Here," he said, pausing on a page. "Polyjuice Potion." The page was filled with pictures of people halfway through transformations, their faces contorted with pain. Toshiro deemed them unimportant and scanned the ingredients list. "It will take much effort to find and collect these items. Powdered horn of a unicorn. Shredded skin of a boomslang. And the time is a factor we will need to keep in mind."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, scooting over to look at the book. "How long will it take?"

"All in all, a month, if we can get all the ingredients in time," the Shinigami answered. "But the biggest problem is that you will have to get a sample of whoever you are changing into."

"What?!" Harry pulled back with a disgusted look. " _What_?!"

"I would suggest hair. It is much easier to obtain than toenails."

"I don't want to eat someone!"

"Oh, stop whining," Toshiro sighed. "It'll dissolve into the potion." In battle, as he sliced his opponents open, blood would fly everywhere, and he sometimes got some in his mouth. It always reminded him to close his mouth when fighting, at least. Usually it happened when he was shouting orders.

"Yeah, but-"

"If you two are going to chicken out, then I can take this right back," Hermione said sternly, snatching the book from Toshiro and standing. " _I_ don't want to break rules, you know. _I_ think threatening Muggle-borns is far worse than brewing up a difficult potion. But if you don't want to find out if it's Malfoy, we can just forget this right now."

Toshiro was going to interject and take back the book, but thought better of it. The boys needed to decide that they were going to go through with the plan. And they needed to do it now.

Said boys stared up at Hermione, jaws hanging open. "F-fine," Ron said weakly. "But I'm not eating toenails." As Hermione sat down again and went over the instructions on how to make the potion, Ron whispered to Harry: "It'll be a lot less hassle if you can just knock Malfoy off his broom tomorrow."

"Abide by the rules, Potter," Toshiro said, startling the boys. "But if you can make it look like an accident, then all the better for us."

Harry simply stared at him.

* * *

Harry woke up early Saturday morning, nerves twisting his insides. He thought about the upcoming game and felt his pulse quicken with adrenaline. He wondered what Wood would say if Gryffindor lost the game, and how disappointed he would be in him. He didn't know if he would be able to stand the shame that would come with it. Then, Toshiro's words from before made their way through his mind.

 _"Abide by the rules, Potter. But if you can make it look like an accident, then all the better for us."_

Was he serious? Was he actually advising him to purposely injure someone? No. Harry shook his head. He must have been joking. That's what he decided. Toshiro must have been joking.

But...the boy never jokes. He was the stuffiest person he'd ever met, with the exception of Snape. That begged the question: What was wrong with him?

Picking nervously at his sheets, a half hour slowly dragged by, the only sounds the soft snoring of the other boys. Finally, unable to stand it anymore, Harry got up, dressed in his Quidditch uniform, and headed down the common room stairs with his broom in hand.

He was halfway across the room when a cold voice made him jump. "You're up awfully early, Potter."

Harry turned around and saw Toshiro sitting at his usual place by the window, one leg drawn up and his arm casually draped across it. Harry looked at the door, then at the boy. He hesitated, and his indecision must have shown.

"Do not fear a challenge, Potter," the white-haired boy said, locking his gaze with Harry. Harry felt rooted to the spot, drowning in the turquoise pools. Toshiro's words seemed to echo in the empty room. Even the ever-lasting fire had paused to hear his words. "Challenges are meant to test you, see if you are ready to move on. Rise to the occasion and prove to life that you can deal with adversity."

Toshiro looked away then, and the spell was broken. Harry blinked, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "What...Why do you care?"

The boy frowned, looking over at him. Harry hurried to explain.

"I-I mean, you've never cared about Quidditch before - why do you want me to do well?"

Toshiro seemed to consider his answer carefully, and when he spoke, his tone was cautious. "I do not care about Quidditch."

Harry waited, but apparently he wasn't going to say any more. He shifted nervously before blurting out: "Did you mean it?"

"Did I mean what?" A cold breeze swept through the room, making Harry shiver, but Toshiro seemed not to notice it.

"Thursday. When you said to make it look like an accident. You said it would be better for all of us."

Toshiro's brows drew together, then his face cleared a moment later. "You took me seriously."

"I - well..."

"Potter, I had attempted humor. Clearly you do not understand how I operate."

"I...you...that was a _joke_?!" Harry could only stare as Toshiro shook his head in exasperation. He muttered something that Harry couldn't quite make out, but the corner of his mouth twitched in what could be interpreted in a grin. It was gone, however, too soon to be sure.

"Good luck in your match, Potter."

Harry stood blinking at the sudden, obvious dismissal before turning and leaving. He made his way down to the Great Hall, mind thinking back on all his interactions with the boy he'd had this year and the last one. He went over every sentence he could recall, trying to determine if he'd ever seen Toshiro make a joke before. He couldn't find any.

* * *

 _"You're becoming soft,"_ Hyourinmaru said thoughtfully as Harry hurried out of the common room. Toshiro scowled and turned to look out the window.

"I was telling him to play a good match," he said softly even though no one else was there. "Nothing more."

Hyourinmaru rumbled softly but fell silent.

Toshiro continued to watch the world outside lighten and heard the other Gryffindors gradually fill up the room. They were rowdier than normal, excited and nervous for the upcoming game. The volume gradually increased until he couldn't take it anymore. Sitting up and swinging down from the windowsill, he slid his way through the crowd. No one noticed him, which suited him just fine.

It was only the beginning of November, but as attuned to the weather as he was, he could sense that it would soon be getting colder. He felt anxious and didn't want to sit still, but equated it to not having trained for much too long. He needed to go out to the clearing and release some of his pent up energy.

The Great Hall was even worse than the common room. Students from all houses were chattering and cluttering the walkways, so Toshiro didn't even bother trying to find a seat. He simply grabbed a couple slices of watermelon from the end of the table, filled a thermos full of tea, and headed back out.

He made short work of the watermelon, but decided to nurse the tea. After all, he had to have something to do during the match. Soon he heard the students start to make their way to the Quidditch field, he joined the crowd and scanned their reiatsu signatures, quickly identifying Hermione's. He fell into step beside her.

They sat in the bleachers next to the stairs. Toshiro leaned back on the bench, wrapping his hands around the warm thermos, which felt surprisingly nice, considering he was an ice-wielder. He watched as Slytherin emerged from their locker room in a line of silver and green, each holding polished black brooms. They took their place around Madam Hooch, who was standing in the middle of the pitch next to a large chest as the Gryffindors emerged. Their fellow housemates cheered, and Toshiro closed his eyes to control the scowl that was threatening to make its appearance. Once he felt he had calmed sufficiently, he opened his eyes to find the game underway.

It was immediately obvious that the Gryffindors were outclassed in speed and agility. The Slytherins were simply blurs of green in the air, while the Gryffindors amongst them almost seemed to sit still. Toshiro puzzled this over before remembering that Harry had been complaining that Malfoy's father had bought the Slytherin's the latest broom model. Oh well.

Then he noticed something odd. There was a particular Bludger that seemed to have a great grudge against Harry. It wouldn't leave him alone, even when Fred and George hit it towards the Slytherins. Toshiro commented this fact to Hermione, who was watching the game closely. She didn't answer or even acknowledge that he'd spoken. Toshiro turned back to the game just as it started to mist lightly. He enjoyed the feeling of the fine water sprinkling him.

He only looked back when the whistle blew and all the players lowered to the pitch. Madam Hooch was making her way to the Gryffindors, who were huddled around Harry. The twins seemed to be arguing with the captain, Wood, who stood angrily, but Toshiro could see the worry in the set of his jaw and the lines of his shoulders. He turned as Madam Hooch approached, and after talking with them for a minute, she blew her whistle and they went into the air again.

Toshiro's eyes narrowed. Something was wrong.

* * *

Harry circled the field, afraid to stop in case the cursed Bludger caught up with him. He looked behind him only to duck as it went whistling over his head. Heart thudding painfully in his chest, he sped up, the falling mist quickly dotting his glasses. Looking for the Snitch was difficult at the best of times, but with a rogue Bludger out for his blood, he could barely concentrate. He was forced to dive, bank, ascend, and spin in order to avoid the Bludger, and didn't have time to search for the little gold ball.

"Training for the ballet, Potter?" Malfoy yelled, smirking as Harry was forced to do a sort of twirl to avoid the Bludger. Harry spared him only a frustrated glare before he was forced to keep moving.

Harry dived, following the curve of the field with the Bludger faithfully behind him. This sort of flying - quick and low to the ground - was normally his favorite, but now he had more things to think about than the thrill of flight.

It had to be sheer luck that Harry pulled out of the wide bank to find something gold and shiny hovering just before his eyes. He blinked stupidly at it before it zoomed off. Recovering his wits, Harry followed it.

He was so focused on the Snitch that he somehow managed to completely forget about the Bludger. The Snitch was moving at a great speed, but his broom was able to keep up, even slowly gaining. He leaned forward, arm outstretched. His fingers just brushed against its wings. He was so close! Just a little more and he...

A loud _snap_ and sudden, blinding pain made him pull back. He was only barely able to stay on his broom as his head swum, vision blurring. Harry groaned, holding his clearly broken arm tightly to his chest and doubled over, stunned with the pain. He gasped for breath and felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

A shout pulled him out of his dazed fog, and some instinct told him to duck. He immediately did so, and felt a rush of air as the Bludger hurtled above him.

"You alright, Harry?" A twin hovered in front of him, eyes dark with concern. He glanced down at Harry's arm.

"I'm fine. I can still play."

"Are you sure? We can-"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Harry ducked again and gave the twin a painful grin. "Come on, this is nothing."

The twin didn't look convinced - he even sounded pained to his own ears - but thankfully left. Harry let out a long breath and shot forward to avoid the Bludger.

The cycle of running from the Bludger and searching for the Snitch started all over again, but this time he had a broken arm to think about. Wonderful. Just wonderful. He cursed his own foolishness for lowering his guard when Toshiro's words suddenly ran through his mind.

 _"_ _Do not fear a challenge, Potter. Challenges are meant to test you, see if you are ready to move on. Rise to the occasion and prove to life that you can deal with adversity."_

 _Fine_ _,_ Harry thought with a sudden, grim determination. _I'll prove my worth to life._ He didn't know why, but he felt like the Japanese boy knew what he was talking about. The steely glint in his eye spoke of something that Harry had no idea - and probably didn't want to know.

Harry pulled into a sudden climb and the Bludger went flying by below. He took the opportunity to scan the field below. He shoved the pain of his arm to the back of his mind, although he was always aware of its sharp throbbing. He hissed lightly, then something caught his eye.

Malfoy was sitting several feet away, obviously laughing at Harry, but that wasn't what he was focused on. His eyes were fixed on the golden ball hovering by the back of his head.

Harry shot forward, startling the boy, whose eyes went wide. Harry ignored him and reached out for the Snitch. A whistling by his right told him the Bludger was hurtling towards him, and with a sudden, desperate lunge forward, Harry's hand closed around the Snitch just as something hit his head and his vision went black.

* * *

Toshiro saw everything. He saw the Bludger break Harry's arm and the boy's short moment of shock, saw as he continued to play despite the pain, and saw his lurch forward to grab the Snitch just in reach.

He saw the Bludger smack into his head.

He saw Harry go limp and fall from his broom.

He saw the boy land heavily on the pitch and lie completely still.

He saw the Bludger hurtling towards him, intent on finishing him off.

No one saw the Shinigami use a series of short shunpos to get down to the pitch, sliding his wand from his boot along the way. He shot a quick spell at the Bludger, utterly destroying it. He then sprinted towards the boy.

Harry's teammates landed softly all around and stumbled to him, faces pale with a mixture of shock and fear. Several were kneeling around Harry when Toshiro arrived. He paused for a moment to take in the boy's condition. Harry was obviously unconscious, and a thin trickle of blood was dribbling out of the corner of his mouth. But he was more worried about his head. Toshiro had been in war and knew head wounds were dangerous.

He knelt down and took the boy's pulse. He felt a great rush of relief when he felt it - surprisingly strong. He then put his hand over Harry's mouth and felt that his breaths were slow but steady. Toshiro sat back and looked up at the team staring down at him.

"He's alive," he said simply. That was little relief to the team. Their eyes were dark as they stared down at their fallen teammate.

As the teachers took Harry away on a stretcher, Toshiro waited to talk to Ron and Hermione. They were likely panicking. Even those not close to Harry were shaken.

* * *

It had been two days since the game, and several things had happened. Classes continued, but there was a subdued air about the school. It was obvious that the Bludger had been cursed, but no one knew who had done it or why. All Quidditch practice had been halted indefinitely until they figured it out, but nothing had been found. The other Bludger was fine, and none of the other balls, brooms, or gear had been found to have anything wrong with it.

There had been another attack very early yesterday. The over-eager boy who had always been following Harry around with a camera - Colin Creevey - was now laying a few beds down from Harry's bed, as still as Mrs. Norris.

A roaring trade in talismans, amulets, and other protective devices had sprung up as soon as news of Colin's attack spread. The students were scared, and little the teachers said made them any better.

In those two days, Harry was still unconscious. Madam Pomfrey was saying that he should wake up soon, but she was too similar to the healers in the fourth to fool Toshiro. She was worried. And she had good cause to be.

Harry's heart rate and breathing were fine, and the broken arm had been fixed very quickly. It was the head injury that worried everyone. He was still - far too still for anyone's liking - and hadn't even moved a finger.

Toshiro sat by his bed, looking around to make sure no one was around to see them. Hyourinmaru rumbled uneasily in the back of his mind. _"Are you sure this is a good idea?"_ he asked. Toshiro sighed and sat back.

 _"I thought we already had this conversation - in length."_

 _"I just want you to be very sure of what you are going to do. We don't know how the wizard will react to this."_

 _"Well, there's a first time for everything."_

Toshiro took his zanpakuto's sudden silence for reluctant acceptance, and put his hand over Harry's head. His hand started glowing with the warm light of kido.


	9. Chapter 9

**A special thanks to Merula Aeolus, who made the new cover image. Thank you so much!**

 **All rights for Bleach and Harry Potter go to their respective owners.**

* * *

The Chamber of Secrets was just as cold and dark as usual. Water dripped from the ceiling, the moss gave off its strange, bluish light, and the only sounds were the water and occasional rustling of rats that Sigruna hadn't managed to kill yet.

What wasn't usual was the yelling. It came from the main room - where once the giant statue of a wizard had stood, but now an ice sculpture of Sigruna herself had replaced it. The basilisk was lying coiled in front of it, head down and watching a small, white-haired boy reprimand her.

" _Why_ would you do that?!"

In Sigruna's mind, she had no idea what he was talking about. From what she had managed to piece together since the Shinigami had stormed in and started yelling, something had happened to someone and he was blaming it on her. She liked the boy, she really did, but she would not stand being blamed for something she didn't do.

"I don't know what you are talking about," she said, trying to sound angry but failing. Miserably. Perhaps it was the guilty feeling deep down in her gut, or the fact that Toshiro's eyes, normally guarded but surprisingly warm, were flinty and furious.

"You Petrified a boy!" Toshiro stood a few feet in front of her, arms crossed and glaring up at her. For someone so short, he had quite a large presence.

Wait - when did she Petrify a boy?

"I did not," she said, lips pulling back and revealing the tips of her fangs.

"Well, there's no other creature here that has that power, and you're _always_ hungry! Now the chickens I bring you aren't enough!"

That was true. After sleeping for so many years, the few chickens that the boy brought around weren't nearly enough to stave off her hunger. She could understand why she would go out to get a meal, but she hadn't. She'd hadn't even _left_ the Chamber in a week!

"No, but I have not gone out." She stuck stubbornly to her story, hurt that he didn't believe her. She had thought they were friends!

Toshiro glared up at her for another few minutes before releasing a sharp breath and uncrossing his arms. "I...apologize," he said gruffly. She pulled back in surprise. She didn't _actually_ think he would apologize.

"Thank you," she said after a brief lull. "But I'm telling the truth. I didn't go out."

There it was again - there was that disbelieving look that he'd been giving her for the last fifteen minutes. It hurt her more than she thought it would, even though it was only present on his face for a split second. After that, he wiped his face clean of emotions.

"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt," he replied softly. Perhaps she had misread his emotions - after all, humans were so hard to read. Not like other reptiles. Sigruna felt her heart melt. She couldn't stay mad at the one person that she could talk to.

"Oh, I'm not mad," she sighed, bending down to curl around him. "I just don't like that you don't believe me."

"I'm sorry, but all the evidence points to you."

Sigruna stiffened, but forcibly kept her voice light. "Someone is making it look like it was me. It wasn't me. I haven't done anything. If I did, I'd remember."

She watched as his face paled - which was an impressive feat, considering he was already alarmingly pale - before appearing to make himself relax. "Yes," he said slowly. "That could be possible."

They stayed like that for several more minutes, after which she broke the silence. "Has anything interesting happened on the upper world?"

Toshiro shook his head, causing part of his white hair to flop into his face. He opened his mouth but hesitated. He looked like he was debating with himself, but finally relented. "Someone...I know got hurt. He's still unconscious."

"The one you were talking about before?" She put her head down on the cool tile, but her eye was still level with his head. He sighed and sat.

"No. Different boy."

"How did this one get hurt?"

"He got hit in the head by a Bludger."

"Bludger?" This was one of the things she disliked about talking to Toshiro. He used words she didn't understand, and she had to ask him to explain. He glanced at her for a moment before launching into an explanation about a sport where wizards ride cleaning instruments and try to kill each other.

How productive.

* * *

Soon after talking with Sigruna, Toshiro left the Chamber of Secrets. He saw Myrtle glaring at him from one of the stalls, but ignored her. As usual, he spread his senses to search for any incoming people, and when no one was near, he left the bathroom.

Toshiro stood at the top of the stairs, leaning against the railing. The people in the paintings were the only things moving in this ancient, silent castle. Toshiro sighed, running a hand through his hair. When had everything started going wrong?

He made his way down to the hospital wing. The students were still at dinner, so there was no one around. Toshiro quietly opened the door and slipped through. Harry's bed was along the wall near a window. Toshiro sat in the chair beside his bed, as usual.

Harry was still unconscious. Apparently the Bludger's hit had done more damage than they'd originally thought. Madam Pomfrey was still saying that he should wake up soon, but Toshiro had his doubts. He'd known a Shinigami that had gotten badly injured by a Hollow and ended up with a skull fracture. He had never woken up.

What Madam Pomfrey didn't know was that she wasn't the only one to be healing him.

Toshiro put his hand over Harry's head, summoning some healing Kido. The boy's pale face was bathed with the green light. Toshiro was most certainly not the best at healing, but Unohana had all the Captains take refresher courses every few years. He was not the best, but he could save someone's life.

Head injuries were tough. You didn't know what you should or should not mess with, so Toshiro ended up simply giving him a general healing. At this point, he was soothing the unconscious boy more than anything else. He could tell that, wherever Harry was hiding in his mind, he was not dreaming of good things. Toshiro could sense his turmoil, his restlessness, and his fearfulness. Perhaps he thought he was still being attacked by the Bludger. Maybe Voldemort was trying to kill him. There were a thousand possibilities of what was keeping Harry locked inside his own mind, and Toshiro didn't know what he could do to help.

Three days after the Quidditch game, Toshiro had been suddenly awakened early in the morning when Harry's reiatsu had spiked. It was odd and filled with fear, confusion, and pain. Toshiro had quickly dressed and gone down to the hospital wing to find the boy thrashing on his bed, covered in sweat, and every muscle tense. Toshiro had done the first thing that came to mind and calmed him with his own reiatsu. It had been the day after he'd healed the boy's head injury, and now he had to continue soothing the boy every morning and occasionally every night. He worried about how this was affecting the boy, but had no other choice. He'd once tried to wait it out, but Harry had continued to thrash, and Toshiro feared that he would have a seizure if he didn't do anything.

Now it had been five days since the game and there had been no improvements in the boy's condition.

Toshiro let the kido fade and stood, striding quickly from the room. He had never liked hospitals, and this was no exception. He made his way to the Great Hall, where light and noise poured out. He walked along the table to find suitable food, gathering it on a plate. Once he was satisfied, he sat down next to Hermione. She greeted him then looked down at his plate.

"You've been eating more."

Toshiro shrugged - he couldn't deny it. Using healing kido when you weren't comfortable with it strained your reiatsu, and he ended up needing to eat more to replenish his energy. It also meant he was sleeping more and was no longer the first one up in the mornings. It irked him, but he had decided that it wasn't necessary to be up first every day.

"Yes, I am."

"Good," Ron said, waving a chicken leg at him. "You need it."

Toshiro winced, seeing that Ron _still_ didn't chew and swallow before talking. It took incredible willpower not to gag when Toshiro looked up at him to reply. He focused on the corner of Ron's eye, determined not to look at his mouth.

"I am fine."

"You're very thin," Hermione said, her tone worried. "How much do you eat at home?"

"About as much as I used to here."

"Oh..." It sounded as if she had more to say, but a girl on her other side tapped her shoulder, and she turned away. Toshiro sighed and continued to eat. He attempted to ignore the childrens' chattering, but the noise and warmth in the Hall was starting to give him a headache. With his plate only half-empty, he gathered some tea in a thermos and stood to leave. A pull on his sleeve made him pause.

Hermione was looking up at him, large brown eyes dark with worry. "Have you been to see Harry?"

Toshiro hesitated. If he said yes, then it would seem as if he were worried about the boy - the truth was, he was deeply concerned about his condition, but he was reluctant to tell them this. If he said no, then he would appear callous and distant, and for some reason he didn't want them to think that about him. When he was with the trio and they were talking and laughing, he would get a warm feeling in his chest that spread throughout his body, and it worried him. He didn't know what was wrong with him, since he didn't get warm unless he was sick, but he didn't feel ill.

He distantly heard Hyourinmaru made an odd rumbling sound, but the ice dragon didn't comment.

"Not yet," he said, realizing that he'd been staring at the girl as he was thinking this over. "Would you like to come with me and we can visit him now?"

Surprisingly, she nodded and stood, smoothing her robes before hurrying away. Toshiro glanced at Ron, but saw he was in an animated conversation with another boy and decided not to interrupt their conversation. Toshiro easily caught up with the bushy-haired witch, and they walked through the quiet halls in comfortable silence.

"How have you been?"

The question took Toshiro by surprise, as his mind was wandering, deciding whether or not to go out and train once everyone went to sleep. The healing Kido was an excellent way to use up some of his gathering reiatsu - he had to hide some of it so the other students and teachers didn't notice - but he was feeling the itch he got whenever he hadn't trained in a while. He wanted to go out and burn off some of his excess energy - for some reason this school didn't have a fitness class.

"I've been well."

Hermione hummed, and they entered another short pause. "How long is your Potions essay?"

"Three feet. And yours?"

"Three and a half," she said proudly, but then seemed to deflate and walked with a subdued energy. Toshiro looked at her, confused.

* * *

For once, Hermione didn't know what to say. The white-haired Japanese boy was always so quiet and seemed to give off an air of not wanting to talk. She had an urge to get him to open up, but didn't know how to do that. She feared any talk of his home life would get him to clam up even more, as he had barely spoken about his life, and when he did, it was short and cryptic. She got the feeling that he didn't like his home life, but she could be wrong. He might just be naturally quiet.

"How have you been?"

Really?! _That_ was the best question she could come up with?!

"I've been well."

Hermione hummed nervously, mind scrambling for another question, one that was more intelligent. "How long is your Potions essay?"

"Three feet. And yours?"

He _really_ wasn't much of a talker.

"Three and a half," she said proudly, before she could reign herself in. She went silent, berating herself. She remembered what she'd read online over the summer, that if you wanted to make friends, then you shouldn't make it sound like you were much better than they were.

 _Great. Just great!_

Hermione glanced up - well, down, since she was taller than him - and saw that he was looking at her, confusion written all over his face. She gave a short laugh and looked away.

She was relieved when they finally made it to the hospital wing. They made their way down to Harry's bed, and Hermione stood by the bed while Toshiro hovered by the foot of it. Hermione looked down at Harry's face, which was pale and still - far too still - and remembered how lively he used to be.

Will _be_ , she reminded herself. _He_ will _wake up, and then everything will go back to normal._

She rubbed his hand, which was surprisingly cold. "Wake up soon, Harry," she said softly. "We've got the Polyjuice Potion going. We need you to wake up so we can figure out how to get some of the ingredients."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Toshiro raise his chin and look like he wanted to say something, but he simply put his hands into his pockets.

They stayed there for another few minutes until Madam Pomfrey came in. She paused at the door, seemingly surprised that someone was there, then bustled over. "He'll be all right," she said. "He just needs rest."

"Why is he unconscious?" Toshiro asked. Hermione started. She hadn't expected him to say anything. "What is keeping him asleep?"

Madam Pomfrey sighed, reaching over to take Harry's pulse. "He was hit in the head by a Bludger. It could be that he is simply trying to reconcile this fact and it is taking him longer than it should."

Toshiro nodded, looking faintly disappointed. The three stood silently around the bed for a moment before Madam Pomfrey spoke again. "You should go to bed. There's nothing more we can do for him." Toshiro and Hermione nodded and left, Madam Pomfrey closing the door softly behind them.

They made their way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom to check on the Polyjuice Potion's progress. Hermione went in first, but she noticed Toshiro's uncharacteristically nervous look as he entered.

Moaning Myrtle usually ignored them when they were there, so the two simply went over to the stall that they kept the potion and its ingredients in. Hermione bent over it, looking down into the gray slop to make sure that nothing had changed since the previous night. When she was satisfied that it was coming along as it should, she sat back and looked over at Toshiro, who was sitting with his back against the wall, looking decidedly uncomfortable.

"Nervous, being in a girls' toilet?" she teased, pleased to see his perpetual scowl deepen.

"No."

"Then why are you so nervous?"

She hadn't really expected him to answer, and so when all she got was a glare, she let it go. She got up with a sigh and put a grin on her face. "Come on. Let's go back to the common room and see how badly Ron's destroyed things."

Toshiro winced but stood and followed her out.

* * *

That night, Toshiro lay awake in bed, unable to get to sleep. He was restless, and finally, after about half an hour, he swallowed a soul candy, told his gigai to look like it was sleeping, and slipped out of the window. He shunpoed to the Forbidden Forest and found the clearing that he had used last year to train. With a small smirk, he unsheathed Hyourinmaru and held it ready before him.

* * *

Hours later, Toshiro shunpoed back to the Gryffindor tower and went back into his gigai, suitably satisfied with his training. He had iced and deiced the clearing many times over. It always pleased him to see a place frozen with the harsh glimmer of ice.

In the morning, Toshiro decided to go to Harry later the next night, so he slowly made his way down to the Great Hall, rubbing his wrist. He'd landed awkwardly on it, and it was sore.

Just when he entered the Hall, however, someone literally smacked into him. Surprised and not ready, he lost his balance, and he and the person fell backwards, with him on the bottom.

"Watch where you're going!" he snarled, batting some hair out of his face. The person quickly scrambled off him, and he saw that it was Hermione.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologized, giving him a hand up. "But I just heard that Harry woke up!"

Toshiro's anger was momentarily forgotten. "He has?"

"Yeah!" Hermione bobbed her head, then took off running, holding tightly to his wrist. "Come on!"

Toshiro was forced to jog alongside her, and they made quick time getting to the hospital wing. Hermione pushed open the doors and ran inside, still dragging Toshiro.

"Harry!" Hermione _finally_ released Toshiro to tackle Harry down to the bed in a fierce hug, startling the poor boy. Toshiro simply stood by the bed, rubbing the blood back to his wrist. She'd had a surprisingly strong grip for such a young human.

"Hermione!" Harry managed to push her off him and blinked up at her. "W-what are you doing here?"

She pulled back, affronted. "I'm here to see you, of course!"

"O-oh, yeah." The dark-haired boy looked embarrassed, then noticed Toshiro standing quietly beside the bed. "Hey, Hitsugaya."

Toshiro nodded a greeting. "It is good to see you awake again, Potter."

"Yeah, Madam Pomfrey told me I've been out for six days. Is that true?"

Hermione nodded, and punched him in the shoulder.

"Hey!"

"Don't _ever_ do that again!"

"Well, it's not like I _wanted_ it to happen! Someone cursed that Bludger!"

"We know." Hermione paused, looking concerned. "Do you remember what happened after you got hit?"

Harry shook his head, then looked like he immediately regretted the motion. "No. I remember I got the Snitch, but everything after that's a blank until I woke up here last night."

"Last night?"

"Yeah." Harry looked at Toshiro, who'd said the question with wide eyes. "Madam Pomfrey was making her last rounds when I woke up. So, what happened after I got knocked out?"

"Well, you fell to the ground, then Hitsugaya destroyed the Bludger with a spell." Hermione paused, looking thoughtful. "How did you get down there so fast?" she asked, turning to Toshiro. "I remember you were sitting with us the whole game."

"Yes, we would like to know that also."

 _Just my luck,_ Toshiro thought, turning to see Professor McGonagall walking towards them.

"Professor Dumbledore would like to talk to you," she said to Toshiro, fixing him with a sharp gaze. Toshiro felt suddenly nervous. "It's good to see you awake and aware once again, Mr. Potter."

"Yeah, me too," the boy muttered absently, watching as McGonagall put a hand on Toshiro's shoulder and steered him toward the doors.

Glancing back, Toshiro saw Hermione mutter, "Good luck."

* * *

 **I don't believe I've said it before now, so I'm just going to put this in now. My updating schedule is on Tuesdays and Fridays.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: All rights for Bleach and Harry Potter go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Toshiro followed Professor McGonagall out of the hospital wing and through the winding castle corridors. Apparently breakfast had ended, as students were flooding the halls.

"Won't I be late to class?" he called up to the Professor, not at all eager to talk to the Headmaster.

"You'll be excused." The answer was curt and delivered with a speed that made Toshiro suspect the woman was not happy with him. He sighed. This was not looking good.

 _Excused?_ Toshiro suddenly thought in confusion. _That makes it seem like I won't be in class the entire day._

Eventually they reached a quieter part of the castle, and the two continued to walk in silence. Toshiro followed the Professor - something he didn't normally like to do, but he had a feeling that he shouldn't make her any angrier than she already was. When they stopped before a statue of a gargoyle, McGonagall faced it and said in a strong, clear voice, "Fizzing whizbees."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow, but was then distracted by the statue that started turning and sliding upward. A staircase was attached to its base, and it spiraled with the statue's movements. "The Headmaster's office is at the top," McGonagall said, turning without looking at him. "Be respectful and answer his questions truthfully."

Toshiro watched the witch leave, curious as to her sudden animosity towards him. Then he shook his head, deciding to put that off for later. He started making his way up the staircase, finding a plain wooden door at the top. He had barely knocked before a familiar voice called him in. He opened the door and stepped into a large, round office filled with random objects, many bookcases filled with dusty tomes, and a bird stand next to the desk. There was a large bird perched there, gold and red feathers dull. Its dark eyes were dry, and it kept making coughing sounds.

 _He doesn't take care of his pets,_ Toshiro thought disapprovingly. He made it a point to visit Athena every few days.

"Ah, Mr. Hitsugaya." His attention was drawn to the old Headmaster sitting behind a large, ornate desk with many papers sitting atop it. There was also a globe in the corner, which was continually spinning on its own. "Please, sit."

Toshiro cautiously sat in one of the two chairs before the desk, irritated to find that if he sat back, his feet wouldn't touch the floor. Wonderful. What a great way to make an impression. There was a reason he had gotten a new chair when he had become Captain.

His mind wandered back to his division. How were they doing with just Rangiku there? He assumed they would contact him if they had any serious problems, but Rangiku had stopped sending him paperwork after the reprimand he had given her, so she might be too scared to ask for help. Or perhaps they were simply too drunk to do anything other than lie around and sleep all day.

It was at this point that he realized Dumbledore was talking, taking Toshiro's silence as his cue to begin. Toshiro tuned in in the middle of the man's apparently long speech. "...events several days ago at the Quidditch game between Slytherin house and Gryffindor house, at which Mr. Harry Potter was injured by a rogue Bludger that had been targeting him throughout the match..."

Wow, this guy could talk. It was almost as bad as when Yamamoto rambled on during Captains' meetings in the atrociously stuffy meeting hall. At least Toshiro was able to sit for this.

 _"I would suggest you start paying attention,"_ Hyourinmaru rumbled. _"He seems to be nearing the end of his speech."_

Toshiro tuned in again. "...reported that you were sitting with friends in the Gryffindor house section of the bleachers. However, a few moments later when Harry Potter was knocked unconscious by the Bludger and consequently fell from his broom..."

Toshiro mentally sighed.

"...you were at the field and disintegrated the rogue Bludger that was attempting to finish its mission in seriously hurting or even killing Harry Potter. You then rushed to the boy's side and, from the accounts of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, gave Harry Potter a field examination. You declared that he was alive, and soon after Mr. Potter was removed from the field by stretcher and taken to the hospital wing, from where he was given medical attention. In your opinion, is this account correct?"

"Yes, it is," Toshiro said, forcibly putting a polite tone into his voice. _Sound like you're talking to Yamamoto, sound like you're talking to Yamamoto, sound like you're talking to Yamamoto..._

"Then kindly explain, in your own words and to the best of your ability, how you were able to reach the field in what was seemingly moments, when it would have taken a person your age and size at the very least five minutes to emerge on the field."

Toshiro took a moment to strip the question of all it's unnecessary words - which ended up being most of them. This posed a problem. He hadn't thought about what it had looked like to the people around him when he had shunpoed down to the field, but it must have looked like he was moving far too quickly for any normal person to move. He needed to come up with a good lie, and quickly. Dumbledore was resting his elbows on the desk and tenting his fingers all while smiling and staring intently at Toshiro. It was very unnerving.

"I was not in the bleachers for the entire game," Toshiro answered, a possible lie having just popped into his head. He hadn't properly formulated all his responses yet, but he was hoping that he would be able to make them up as he went along. "I could tell that something was wrong with the Bludger, and once it broke Potter's arm, I figured that it wouldn't stop there. I left the bleachers and was making my way down as the game continued. I doubt anyone saw me leave because they were all focused on the match. I am also not very talkative, so it is quite easy for people to overlook me."

Dumbledore was silent for some time, most likely scanning his story for flaws. Toshiro sat still in his chair, back straight and chin raised. He would not act guilty. He had lied before, and he could do it now.

"Why did you feel the need to help Harry Potter if you are not close to him?" Dumbledore sat back in his chair, not losing his smile. Toshiro supposed it was supposed to be comforting, but it reminded him too much of Ichimaru's smile - it never left his face.

"I did not say I was not close to him," Toshiro said, rephrasing the question to give him more time to come up with an answer. "I do not know if we are called friends, but I felt a responsibility to not let him die. I was able to prevent that from happening, so I decided that I must act."

Again Dumbledore paused, and again Toshiro maintained eye contact. He was a _Captain_. He would _not_ be intimidated by a human - one that he was likely older than. Despite how old and wise the man appeared, Toshiro knew that humans could only live up until a certain point, and he was past that. This human was probably younger than him.

"You are aware of the consequences of lying to the Headmaster, are you not?" Dumbledore said suddenly. Toshiro narrowed his eyes. Was he _threatening_ him?

"I am aware," Toshiro answered. "But I do not see how that is relevant, as I am not lying."

Hyourinmaru nodded and stirred his wings. _"Technically, you are not. You did want to protect the youngling, you did go down to the field as the game was being played, the humans were concentrated on the game, and people do tend not to notice you if you want them to. You are not lying."_

 _"Thank you, for summarizing everything,"_ Toshiro said dryly. _"I was not aware of any of that."_

Hyourinmaru grumbled, raking his claws through the snow. _"There's no need to snap at me."_

 _"I didn't snap at you."_

Hyourinmaru was silent, and if he could, Toshiro knew he'd be raising his eyebrow.

 _"Fine. I'm sorry. Happy?"_

 _"Better,"_ the zanpakuto muttered.

Toshiro resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His zanpakuto could act like such a little kid sometimes.

 _"I heard that,"_ the dragon called. _"And just remember, I am a part of your soul. If I act like a youngling, then so do you."_

Stupid dragon and his logic.

"Mr. Hitsugaya?"

Toshiro started, snapping his gaze back to the Headmaster, who was watching him with no little concern. Toshiro realized he must have been zoning out. "My apologizes, Heamaster," Toshiro said, dipping his head slightly. "Could you repeat that?"

Dumbledore regarded him with carefully guarded blue eyes for a long moment before speaking. "I asked, what kind of education did you have before coming to Hogwarts?"

Toshiro paused. Out of all the possibilities that he thought he'd be questioned on, that hadn't even made the list. Why did Dumbledore want to know that?

 _"Answer carefully,"_ Hyourinmaru advised, sounding worried. _"He must be up to something."_

"The usual," Toshiro answered. "I had just finished primary school." Despite hating how young he looked, he decided that it would be best to answer based on what he should have been in, considering he was supposed to be twelve.

Dumbledore nodded and looked down at his desk, then slid a paper over to Toshiro. "You did not skip any years? Your grades here suggest you are far above the average in intelligence."

Toshiro looked down at the paper. It was a transcript of last years' grades. They were the highest one could get.

"No," Toshiro answered finally. "My grandmother wanted me to stay with children my age." Oh, how he hated saying that. But Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully.

"With marks such as these, I find myself questioning why you were sorted into Gryffindor. Ravenclaw might have been the best fit for you."

Toshiro glanced at the old Sorting Hat, which was sitting on a shelf in a bookcase. It was still and silent, but he knew it was listening intently. "I cannot tell you its reasons for putting me in Gryffindor, as I do not know myself."

Dumbledore sat back in his chair, folding his hands on the desk. "It is unorthodox, and we have rarely done it since the opening of Hogwarts, but what would you say to switching Houses?"

This man was full of surprises. Toshiro sat staring at him, contemplating the offer. He had to admit, it was attractive. Ever since he'd heard that the Ravenclaw common room was a library, he had half wanted to switch, but that notion had been pushed aside since it had seemed impossible. Now that the opportunity was before him, he found himself unsure of what to do.

Had Dumbledore offered this at the beginning of the year, he would have gladly accepted. But now, with the Polyjuice Potion and Harry's condition, he felt that he was needed far more in Gryffindor. It would be infinitely more difficult to plan with the trio if he was in another class. The Gryffindors rarely had class with the Ravenclaws, so he might not even see the three.

There was also the fact that if he switched, he would draw unnecessary attention to himself. From what he understood, changing Houses was rare, if nonexistent. He had never heard of someone doing this, and he preferred to stay in the background.

Despite all this, the offer was very tempting. He would be among intelligent people - even if they were children and very young - but they were likely to be much better behaved than the Gryffindors. He might be able to have an intellectual conversation with someone, instead of reading by the window and attempting to ignore the chatter of the other children.

And yet...he would miss them. For some reason, he would miss Ron and Harry's intense discussions about Quidditch, Hermione's frantic studying before tests, and even Neville's forgetfulness. They were what made Gryffindor unique, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to give that up. He had a strange attachment to the House.

Looking up, he saw that Dumbledore was waiting patiently for his answer. The thought suddenly struck him that this must have been why Professor McGonagall was so angry with him before. Changing Houses might upset the Heads, especially if the student in question was such a high academic achiever such as himself. He brought the Gryffindor average IQ up considerably, and probably provided something for the witch to take pride in. If he switched to Ravenclaw, she was likely to dislike him for the rest of his time here, however limited that hopefully was.

Still, this decision shouldn't be based on anyone's feelings but his own. In the end, they did not matter. It was his choice, and his alone.

Toshiro sat straight and met Professor Dumbledore's gaze. "Thank you for the offer," he said firmly, proud that his voice didn't hold any of the worry he was currently feeling. "But I am afraid I must decline. I am content in Gryffindor, and I would like to remain there."

Dumbledore nodded, something sparking in his eyes. Toshiro vaguely remembered that the man had been in Gryffindor himself, and so probably thought of the House and its students fondly. "If that is your decision, then I will respect that."

"Thank you, sir."

Dumbledore leaned forward and set Toshiro's transcript back into his folder. Then he waved his wand and the folder lifted into the air, sorting itself onto a shelf amongst many other folders. They were probably every students' information. When it was situated, Dumbledore leaned back and smiled again. Toshiro really wished he wouldn't do that. It reminded him too much of Ichimaru.

"Now, then, we still have the issue of your intellect."

What? It was a _problem_ that he was smarter than the other students? It took all of Toshiro's self-control not to glare at the Headmaster. He sat silently, hoping that the man would ready his body language and know that he was angry.

"You are far above the other students in your grade," Dumbledore continued cheerfully, either not noticing or deciding to ignore Toshiro's anger. "We have considered moving you up a year."

Toshiro froze. It was the Academy all over again. "With all due respect, sir," he hurriedly said, forcing his tone to be polite. "I do not wish to move up a year. I am happy where I am."

"Perhaps, but wouldn't you like to be challenged more? All of your professors have reported that you can sleep during class and will still achieve top marks."

"Yes, but I don't want to leave my friends." Toshiro was scrambling to put together an argument that Dumbledore would accept. After all, the school couldn't do anything without his consent, and probably his guardian's consent as well. Yamamoto was acting as his official guardian - Toshiro would take this information to the grave before letting anyone, particularly Rangiku, know - and probably wouldn't want him moving up. Based on recent events, they had decided that Toshiro needed to stick close to Harry. The boy seemed to be a magnet for trouble, and Voldemort had an unhealthy desire to kill him. Since Toshiro's mission was to ultimately destroy Voldemort, then it made sense to be around Harry.

"I understand your feelings, but you mustn't hold yourself back because of them. Your life is your own, and it is best if you do all you can to succeed." Dumbledore's eyes glittered in the light. The bird a few feet away coughed weakly.

"I assure you, Headmaster, this decision was my own. I am not holding back because of my friends."

Dumbledore studied him for a few seconds before nodding. "Very well. If that is your choice, then we will have to respect that. Have a good day, Mr. Hitsugaya."

"And you, Professor Dumbledore." Toshiro stood and bowed, then left. As he made his way to his first class, there was no one in the halls. Then a realization hit him and he stopped dead.

He had called them his _friends_. He thought of them as _friends_. When had that happened?! Toshiro swallowed nervously. What did this mean? What was going to happen now?

 _"Calm down, Master,"_ Hyourinmaru said, sounding faintly amused. _"This is a good thing."_

 _"Good?!"_ Toshiro practically screamed at his zanpakuto. _"Good?! This could ruin the whole mission!"_

 _"How?"_

Toshiro took a deep breath and started walking again. _"Nothing."_

 _"Master-"_

 _"Nothing! Just leave it alone."_

 _"This isn't something that you should allow to fester."_

 _"I know. I'll deal with it."_

 _"How?"_ He sounded wary. Toshiro didn't answer. He continued walking to class, which was Transfiguration. Great. He got to deal with an annoyed McGonagall.

Pushing open the door, he slipped in and wanted to take his seat quietly, but McGonagall noticed him. Luckily she wasn't giving a lecture, but she was helping a student turn a carved frog into a real one when he came in. She looked over at him, sharp eyes widening in surprise. She straightened and marched right over to him.

"You're still here?"

She spoke quietly, but the students near them could easily hear. And they weren't even bothering to hide the fact that they were listening.

"Yes, Professor." Toshiro attempted to get past her to his seat, but she didn't move.

"Why?"

Anger stirred in his chest, and the room's temperature dropped. He was a _Captain_ ; he didn't need to explain himself to her!

"I decided not to change," he said, voice low and eyes dark. He was in no mood to defend himself to anyone, and was starting to regret his decision to come to class. It might have been better if he'd just gone to the Chamber.

McGonagall must have misread the anger in his eyes, as she said, "Do you regret that decision?"

Toshiro shook his head, not looking at her. "No."

He wasn't sure if he was convincing her or himself.

* * *

Once classes ended that day, Toshiro fled to the Chamber and busied himself in doing what he'd promised he'd do a couple weeks ago - make it more livable. He was determined not to think about school and his mission for at least several hours, and so decided that this was a good way to distract himself.

After some exploring Toshiro found a back room that seemed ideal for what he wanted. It was not overly large, but was big enough for bookcases, a chair, and Sigruna, if she wanted to be there while he stayed. With a goal in mind, Toshiro sat with his back to the wall and a piece of paper to plan. He knew that if he borrowed supplies from the school, they would investigate, and he couldn't go back to Soul Society until winter break, which was six weeks away. So, he was stuck.

While he was thinking, Sigruna slithered in and coiled her body around the room, resting her head by his knees. She looked at his paper, which was annoyingly blank. "What is the problem?"

"If I take stuff from the school, they're going to look for it," Toshiro sighed, tapping his quill against his chin. "I've already gotten noticed by them, so I'd like to stay off their radar from now on."

Sigruna flicked out her tongue, catching the edge of the paper and launching it into the air. He lunged for it and gave her a glare. She simply curled her upper lip in what he guessed was supposed to be a grin. "You made my statue," she said thoughtfully, raising her head slightly. "Why can't you just make more things?"

Toshiro stared at her for a moment. "You know, that's actually a good idea. Why didn't I think of that?"

He frowned and Sigruna opened her mouth to say something when they heard the distant rumbling of stone sliding on stone. Toshiro and the basilisk looked at each other in confusion for a moment before panic set in and they scrambled for the door.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: All rights for Bleach and Harry Potter go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Toshiro sprinted towards where the noise had come from while Sigruna hurried along beside him. She pulled a little ahead of him, but then stopped suddenly, head raised and tongue flicking out. Toshiro attempted to get past her, but she blocked the way with her tail.

"What are you doing?" Toshiro hissed, keeping his voice low, as he knew sounds carried down here. "We need to find out who's here!"

"I recognize this scent..." Sigruna whispered, her tongue flicking out rapidly to taste the damp air. "But how...?"

Toshiro growled in frustration, using a short burst of Shunpo to get past the large snake. Once clear, he ran the rest of the way, hand in his pocket and ready to pull out a soul candy if necessary. But the person standing in the middle of the Chamber, looking around at the carved stone and ice, tinted light sparking off bronze hair, made him pull up short. The girl turned, hair spreading in a fan around her head before settling around her shoulders. Toshiro was startled at the cold light in her eyes, so very different from her normally warm eyes. Her next question left him stunned.

"Who are you?"

If he wasn't confused at the content, he was puzzled at the rapid, curt way she'd said it. It was delivered in her voice, but she didn't...say it. Toshiro barely had time to blink before he felt scales brush his arm, and Ginny's eyes flicked up to Sigruna.

"I did not call you to come," she said coldly, and Sigruna flinched back as if stung, but Toshiro was stuck on the fact that she'd spoken in Parseltongue. From what he'd read, that was a very rare ability. And she also knew not to look the basilisk in the eyes.

"You smell like him, but you do not look like him," Sigruna said, voice small. "What are you?"

"Leave, basilisk." Sigruna hesitated, then turned and slithered away. Toshiro watched her go before turning back to Ginny. The two stared at each other, assessing the other's appearance, but more than that, their skills. Toshiro could see the way she stood: awkwardly and yet with much better posture than she normally possessed. He looked into her eyes, and knew in that instant that she was being controlled. That, or someone had taken her form. This was not Ginny Weasley.

"Who are you?" he asked, putting his hand in his pocket. It did not look like she was armed, but he did not know the abilities of whoever this was. It was always best to be prepared.

"I believe I asked you that first."

If he had any doubts that this was Ginny, her voice pushed them all away. He hadn't gotten particularly close to the girl while he'd stayed at the Weasley's - she had eyes only for Harry, and he was just an oddity that she'd accepted - but he had heard her speak enough to know her voice. And that wasn't it.

"Hitsugaya Toshiro, or Toshiro Hitsugaya, as you would say it." He would never get used to the way they said their names.

"Ginny Weasley," the girl replied.

"No."

"No?" Her features twisted into a confused smile. "I would know my own name, don't you think?"

"I spent time with her family, and this is not how a Weasley - any Weasley - acts. I will ask you again - Who are you?" Toshiro subtly fell into a defensive stance, but if the calculating flick of her eyes were anything to go by, the motion had not gone unnoticed.

"I have no desire to fight you, if you are a fellow Parselmouth, as I suspect you are, for the basilisk has not attacked you. Really, we are rare enough as it is. The others just don't understand us, don't you agree?"

"Answer my question."

The smile fell from her face, dropping into a scowl. "Fine. I am Tom Marvolo Riddle." She paused here, as if to let the impact sink in. Toshiro shook his head.

"Never heard of you before. How and why do you look like Weasley Ginny?"

She spread her hands, the smile coming back but transformed into a victorious smirk. "I don't just look like her, I _am_ her!"

Toshiro worked through this in his mind. "So...you used a Polyjuice Potion?"

Ginny let her hands drop, clearly irritated. "No. I _am_ her."

"Look, if you're going to explain something, don't just say it again. That won't help any. Tell me how you possessed her body."

Rolling her eyes, Ginny - or was it Tom? - walked forward. Toshiro analyzed her gait, and came to the conclusion that he wasn't lying. Her steps, clearly meant for a larger form, were a little hesitant, and more than that, she walked with a gracefulness that she didn't have.

Once she was close - a little _too_ close, in Toshiro's opinion - she grinned. "I'm not idiotic enough to reveal my plans to someone I just met - even if you are a Parselmouth. What _I_ want to know is how you found this place. It should not be obvious unless you know what you're looking for."

Refusing to back away, Toshiro crossed his arms. "If you won't answer my question, then I won't answer yours."

To his surprise, Tom pulled away, backing up with suddenly smooth steps. "Deal," he said, and looked up at the ice sculpture that Toshiro had made. "I don't like that you've changed the Chamber. Slytherin made it. You have no right to alter it."

Toshiro watched him, carefully schooling his features into an emotionless mask. "You have no right to tell me what I can and cannot do."

Ginny looked over at him, and for the first time, her reiatsu rose. Or rather, _his_ reiatsu rose. It was dark, twisted, _unnatural_ , and Toshiro immediately hated it. It was as if he were standing under a waterfall pounding tar down on his head, sticking to him and filling his nose and mouth, clogging his senses and weighing him far, far down. It was _wrong_. Toshiro glared at Tom, eyes full of malice.

"You do not belong in this world," he spat, struggling to keep himself from slipping from his gigai and sending this bastard on. " _What_ are you?"

Ginny looked surprised. "Oh, so you know what I did just now? Fascinating, very fascinating..."

 _"Calm yourself, Master,"_ Hyourinmaru rumbled comfortingly as Toshiro's hands clenched. He itched to unsheathe his sword and run it through this _thing's_ ribs. The only problem was that it was wearing Ginny's body.

"I am very interested in you," Tom said suddenly, breaking through Toshiro's thoughts. "But sadly, I am out of time. This body cannot support me for extended periods of time." Her face suddenly twisted with disgust. "How bothersome. I will be going now."

She turned, striding out of the Chamber. Toshiro hesitated, looked back at the tunnel that Sigruna had disappeared down, then picked up his bag and followed the _thing_ in Ginny's body.

* * *

By the time he exited the Chamber, Ginny was some distance down the staircase. He called out to her, and was relieved when she turned, eyes warm and filled with recognition. "Hitsugaya! Hey, how are you doing?"

Toshiro stopped a step above her, still a little wary of the girl. Now that he was looking for it, he could sense a bit of that _unnatural_ reiatsu on her. She had her own, but this _Tom's_ lingered still. "I'm fine," he answered, satisfied that she was once again in control of her body. Still, as they walked back to the Gryffindor common room, he kept an eye on her. "What are you doing out so late?"

He did not miss the look of confusion and - fear? - that crossed her face, although she quickly tried to hide it. "Oh, not much," she said dismissively, waving a hand. "Just felt like a walk."

"I understand. The others can get to be too much sometimes."

"Especially my brothers," she laughed. Toshiro almost - almost - paused. As far as he knew, she all but worshiped her brothers. He hadn't heard her say one bad thing about them, and she always put up with them pulling pranks on her. Something was definitely wrong.

Ginny looked at him, her smile slipping. "Is something wrong?"

"No," he assured her, but even as they went into the common room and split apart - Ginny going up to her dorm and him to his window - he thought over the recent events. Someone called Tom Marvolo Riddle was possessing Ginny's body and made her go to the Chamber to do...something. Toshiro got the feeling that he'd interrupted whatever plans the thing had had.

"Hitsugaya!" Toshiro looked up and saw Hermione and Ron walking quickly towards him.

"What is it?" he asked once they were within earshot. Hermione frowned, but Ron wasn't put off.

"What happened with Dumbledore? You disappeared after class, so we thought you'd gotten expelled, or something."

"Nothing of the sort," Toshiro snorted. "He simply wanted to get my version of events of the Quidditch game. From what I gathered, he had spoken to many students already."

"Was that all? You took a bloody long time."

"As I discovered, he is fond of having a monologue."

Ron nodded, but Hermione didn't seem satisfied. "Anything else?" she pressed. Toshiro hesitated. If there was any time to ask, it was now.

"Have either of you heard of someone called Tom Marvolo Riddle?" They shook their heads. It wasn't all that surprising; Ron didn't read any more than he absolutely had to, and Hermione only cracked open textbooks. "I think he was a previous student here," Toshiro added. Any detail would help. He was a bit alarmed when a sudden, wide smile broke out on Hermione's face.

"Guess we've got to go to the library," she said cheerfully. Ron groaned.

* * *

As it turned out, it was surprisingly easy to find out who Tom had been. The only problem was, he had been a student at Hogwarts fifty years ago. There was simply no way he could be the one controlling Ginny (not that Toshiro told them this - Ron would only freak out). Thus, he was back where he started; his only clues Tom's words and that weird reiatsu he put out. There was something...artificial about it, as if it wasn't whole. Perhaps that was his reason for merging with Ginny - he wanted to be complete again. If so, Toshiro understood his reasons, even if he didn't agree with them. He wouldn't be able to bear it if he were separated from Hyourinmaru.

The dragon rumbled his agreement with this sentiment.

Harry was released from the hospital wing three days after he woke up. The Gryffindors threw him a party, which Toshiro made sure to avoid. They were already rambunctious enough; he didn't even want to know what they were like hyped up on sugar.

They continued to brew the Polyjuice Potion in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Toshiro went back to the Chamber the next day to find Sigruna curled up in a little ball in the room he had picked to be his living space. Toshiro tried getting her to eat the chickens that he'd brought, but she wouldn't even look at him. He left them by the door as he left.

Three weeks after Harry woke, Professor McGonagall took the names of those staying at Hogwarts over winter break. Toshiro was torn between returning to Seiretei and seeing how his division was faring - he worried about them more than was probably healthy - and staying so he could see how the Polyjuice Potion worked. As it turned out, the decision was made for him.

After giving Yamamoto his report about what had happened in the Chamber, the Head-Captain had ordered him to stay and try to see if he could discover the source of the odd reiatsu. Toshiro unhappily signed his name on McGonagall's sheet, as did Ron, Harry, and Hermione. It seemed he would be stuck with them throughout winter break.

Oh well. At least it would snow soon. He could already sense the change in the air, and Hyourinmaru was restless, constantly pacing. The dragon knew the snow was coming, and he wanted to be released into his natural element. Toshiro's inner world was not, as the zanpakuto put it, 'New and exciting'. Toshiro didn't know whether to be insulted or pleased that his emotions weren't affecting his inner world.

Either way, life at Hogwarts continued much the same for several days; the only interesting action came when the trio had to get some rare ingredients from Snape's personal store for the Polyjuice Potion. Harry remarked that intentionally causing trouble in Snape's class was like poking a sleeping dragon in the eye. Toshiro agreed wholeheartedly, though he argued that poking a sleeping dragon _anywhere_ would end up horribly for you. Good for the dragon. It would get a meal.

When they entered the Potion's classroom, which was held in a large room in the dungeons, Toshiro made sure to pick a cauldron across the room from Goyle's - he had no intention of getting caught in the spray and swelling up like a balloon. As the period began, Hyourinmaru was snickering in the back of Toshiro's mind, irritating the young Shinigami.

 _"Shut up!"_ he growled, losing concentration for a moment and accidentally added a bit too many puffer-fish eyes to his cauldron. It turned an interesting shade of green, and started bubbling ominously. Toshiro became so focused on trying to fix this that he almost missed when Harry threw the firework into Goyle's cauldron, spraying the solution everywhere. Since he had the foresight to stand far enough away, Toshiro wasn't hit, but it was amusing to see the childrens' bodies swell up like overripe melons.

In the confusion and general chaos this created, Hermione was able to sneak into the back room, and when she came back, her robes were bulging with supplies. Toshiro hid a snicker by bending down to pick up his quill.

Harry later complained that Snape knew it was him.

"Of course he does," Toshiro scoffed, adjusting the strap on his bag. "He hates you the most out of all the school. It only makes sense that he'd blame you."

Harry grumbled but let it drop. The four headed up to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom to drop off the supplies. While the trio was distracted, Toshiro walked over to the sinks and traced the outline of a snake carved into one of the faucets.

 _What is wrong with you, Sigruna?_

* * *

 **Hey, the 11th chapter! Wow, can't believe this is going longer than the other one - and even I don't know how many chapters this will be. I have a rough estimate, but still...Also, it's weird that this story is ten thousand words behind the other one. Anyway...12th chapter up on Friday.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter and Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Toshiro was walking down to the Great Hall fuming about infuriating snakes and their sheer, thick-headed stubbornness. The basilisk had practically refused to talk to him the past week, even though he went down every night and almost every morning. All that ended up happening was him first trying to coax the snake to even _look_ at him, but that eventually devolved into him shouting at her back. He would leave the Chamber seething and in a bad mood.

He walked past the entrance hall, and a flier on the bulletin caught his attention. A dueling club was starting, with the first meeting at eight tonight. _Finally,_ Toshiro thought, going into the Great Hall to get some food. _The adults here are_ actually _doing something. Not that it'll actually do these_ children _any good. They wouldn't last five minutes in a real fight._

He had intended on eating something, but really all he did was repeatedly stab the sausages with his fork. The fact that this school didn't even have _chopsticks_ made him even more irritated. When the trio slid into the seats next to him, it was all he could do to keep from snapping their heads off. As it was, he glared at them as they chattered excitedly about the dueling club.

"Are you going?" Harry asked, turning to him suddenly. Toshiro again stabbed his rather pathetic-looking sausages and turned his piercing turquoise eyes on the boy.

"No," he growled. "There is no point in being taught how to fight with your hands effectively tied. In a real fight out on the battlefield, do you think your enemy will just come up to you and ask 'Would you care to have a friendly competition so that I may study your abilities and figure out a strategy on how to counter them?' No, they'll sneak up behind you and slit your throat, if they're in a hurry. If you're lucky, they come at you with their wand out and attempt to kill you. This whole endeavor is pointless."

The trio blinked at him rather owlishly as he gathered his things, leaving his plate of mutilated sausages behind.

* * *

After the slightly disturbing conversation with Toshiro, Ron and Harry went back to talking about the club - albeit a little subdued. Hermione watched Toshiro stalk out of the Hall, fairly snarling at a boy that accidentally bumped into him.

Something had been wrong with him since the year started. He'd been closed off and short with everyone, which was strange, since he'd started to warm up to them last year, and had even started to make jokes. Hermione remembered over the summer, how she'd looked up his name to try and figure out where he lived so she could write him letters, but she'd come up blank. It was as if he'd never existed. She had even tried sending an owl out, but it had always come back, exhausted and still carrying the letter.

It was as if a switch had been thrown - Toshiro hadn't wanted to talk with them much this entire year, and truth be told, it was starting to grate on her nerves, especially in the last few weeks. They'd all been a bit short-tempered with Harry in the infirmary unconscious, but even when he'd woken up, Toshiro hadn't acted relieved or even slightly happy. If anything, he'd gotten even grumpier.

A few days ago, she had noticed that he'd developed bags under his eyes, and he was starting to let his schoolwork go a little. She had never known him to procrastinate, but he'd been leaving his homework until later and later, and she'd even spotted him doing the Potions essay in History of Magic. Something was wrong, very wrong.

In an effort to discover what was up with him, she had gotten up early one morning and waited in the common room. As the minutes ticked by and more and more people came down, she didn't see him. So, she asked Ron and Harry, who said that he hadn't been in their dorm room when they'd woken up. The only logical conclusion was that the white-haired boy had gotten up even earlier than she had.

With a glance at Harry and Ron to see if they needed her, Hermione grabbed her bag and hurried out of the Hall, hot on Toshiro's tail. She could see quick flashes of white in the crowd, which she assumed to be his hair. "Hitsugaya!" she called out, but he either didn't hear her or he was ignoring her. Considering how alert he was, she assumed it was the latter.

Finally they turned a corner and broke out of the crowd. Toshiro had somehow gotten far ahead of her, so she sped up in hopes to catch him. She huffed in annoyance, but then shrieked in surprise as her feet suddenly slid out from under her, and she slipped, her arms windmilling. Just as she was about to fall, she felt hands on her shoulders, steadying her. She looked up to thank the mysterious person, and was shocked when she saw Toshiro behind her, turquoise eyes filled with concern and annoyance.

"T-thanks," she stuttered, pushing herself away from him. Then something occurred to her. "How...you were ahead of me. Why did you..."

"Why did I catch you?" he finished when she trailed off, and his brows drew together. "I didn't want you falling and hitting your head on the stone floor."

"No, that's not what I was - thank you, for that." He nodded slightly, and she blundered on, gesturing vaguely towards the end of the hall. "You were so far ahead of me. How did you get back in time to catch me?"

His expression cleared, and he shrugged. "I heard you scream. I came back to see what happened."

"Oh." Hermione's face reddened, annoyed that she'd screamed like a helpless damsel in distress. She covered up her embarrassment by looking at the floor. It looked shinier than normal, so she crouched to touch it, and was surprised to find it freezing. "It's ice!"

Toshiro knelt beside her, reaching out to feel the stone. "It is. Does it normally do that?"

Hermione shot him an odd look. That was such a stupid question, and she knew how much he hated stupid questions. "No."

"Well, that's odd." He stood, taking her elbow and steering them away from the hall. "Best not to walk on it anymore, then."

"Yeah." Hermione shivered, surprised to find that his hand was almost as cold as the ice. Toshiro had made it very clear that he didn't like much contact, so she had tried to keep her hugs down to a minimum. She never realized he was this cold. "You should put on warmer clothes. You're freezing."

Toshiro quickly let go of her, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Sure," he muttered, refusing to look at her. The rest of the trip to their first class was filled with an awkward silence. It was only when the lecture started that she realized he hadn't answered her question.

* * *

Toshiro wanted to bang his head on the wall, repeatedly. How could he have been so _stupid_?! He'd been so focused on the situation with Sigruna that he hadn't even noticed his rising reiatsu and the consequential ice that spread from his feet. What kind of Captain was he?

As he had left the Hall, he heard Hermoine calling his name, but he didn't want to talk to anyone, so he had put his head down and continued walking, hoping she would give up. Like the stubborn witch she was, she had followed him until they broke out of the crowd, and he sped up, trying to put some distance between them. It was only when he'd heard her sudden scream that he turned and saw her moments away from cracking her head on the floor. There was no one else around, so he did a short shunpo to get behind her, steadying her. She was confused by how fast he'd gotten to her, but luckily she let it go.

Toshiro was mortified to find the floor covered in a thin film of ice. He had gotten Hermione out of there as fast as he could, melting the ice behind them, and was mentally kicking himself.

 _How. Could. I. Be. So. Stupid?_ _Idiot, idiot, idiot!_

 _"Calm down, Master,"_ Hyourinmaru rumbled in amusement. _"It was an accident."_

 _"I'm a Captain; I shouldn't_ have _accidents!"_ Toshiro put his head down on his desk, hiding behind his books. _"Stupid, stupid, stupid."_

 _"Well, that's impossible."_ Hyourinmaru said this in such a blunt way that Toshiro raised his head and blinked. _"You're going to make mistakes; you_ have _made mistakes."_

Toshiro growled in warning.

 _"My point is, you need to blow off steam. Go out training. Run laps. Or you could go to that dueling club."_

 _"What good would that do?"_

 _"Think about it. You get to fight someone. Even if you can't go all out, it'll be a good way to get your anger out."_

Toshiro considered this. _"Fine. I'll go."_

 _"Good. Now pay attention. McGonagall's about ready to take points off."_

Toshiro looked up just as the woman glared at him.

* * *

The rest of that day seemed to pass incredibly slowly, and yet soon it was dark and he was making his way to the Great Hall along with a flood of other students. Toshiro put his hands into his pockets and tried to push down his rising annoyance over the sheer amount of people around him. He had never been good with large crowds, and this was no different.

The inside of the Great Hall had been changed to fit this evening's purposes. The tables had been removed, leaving room for one large, rectangular stage in the center of the room. The candles still floated above their heads, and the ceiling was still charmed to look like the night sky. Toshiro was glad to see the stars covered by a thick layer of dark clouds. Hyourinmaru stirred, and he knew that it would snow tonight.

His attention was drawn elsewhere when he spotted a familiar head of flaming red hair. Toshiro attempted to make his way over to the trio, but a large group of fifth years got in his way, and he found himself pushed back towards a corner of the room. He humphed in annoyance, crossing his arms over his chest. If anyone looked back, they would see the Shinigami's eyes burning with a dark anger. He didn't like reminders of how small he was.

He could hear the children talking excitedly, all wondering who was going to teach them. Toshiro didn't much care, as long as it wasn't-

"Gather round, gather round!" The packed Hall suddenly quieted, and Toshiro looked up to see what was possibly his least favorite man alive - and dead - walking onto the stage, deep plum-colored robes swirling about his feet. How Toshiro wished they would tangle and the man would face plant. "Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!"

He was _still_ talking?

"Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions - for full details, see my published works."

Dumbledore _actually_ approved this _idiot_ to teach them dueling? The man must be going mad in his old age.

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape." Lockhart waved a hand at the Professor, who stared down his impressively hooked nose at the man. He looked as if he wanted to chop up Lockhart for one of his potions. "He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry - you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

That was not what Toshiro feared. He feared that Snape _wouldn't_ kill Lockhart. Or severely injure him. _Anything_ so the idiot wouldn't be able to teach them for the rest of the year. Toshiro had about all he could take with the man's antics. He was either preening about his accomplishments or rambling on about how he could do _so_ much better than _everyone_ else about _everything_. Most days Toshiro wanted to throw his book at the man and knock out one of his teeth.

Toshiro brought himself out of his musings when the Professors faced each other and bowed. Rather, Lockhart bowed with many flourishes, and Snape jerked his head forward, sneer curling his upper lip.

The Professors backed a few steps away from each other, then took up defensive stances, holding their wands like swords. This surprised Toshiro. Wands would do nothing to protect their user from a real sword, or even a knife. They'd be cut in half like butter.

"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position," Lockhart was saying to the crowd of surprisingly silent students. Toshiro saw several coins exchange hands. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."

Damn.

"One - two - three-"

Spinning his wand to maneuver it above his head, Snape shouted, " _Expelliarmus_!" A flash of scarlet lit up the stage, and Lockhart went flying, smashed into a wall, and slid down it in an undignified heap. Several students cheered, and while Toshiro refrained from such obvious joy that perhaps, if they were lucky enough, the man was dead, but he did applaud louder than many. However, his hopes were shattered when the man stood, smoothing out his robes and shoving his flattened hat back onto his head.

"There you have it!" he shouted, staggering unsteadily back up the stage. "That was a Disarming Charm - as you see, I've lost my wand - ah, thank you, Miss Brown - yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind me saying so, it was very obvious what you were going to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy - however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see..."

He really could ramble. Even Snape was looking ready to snap off a spell much more powerful than a simple disarming. Toshiro silently egged him on. He ignored the dragon that rumbled his agreement, and who was also listing several ways he would kill the man. Toshiro stopped listening after _"Drop him from the Astronomy Tower"_.

Eventually, though, Lockhart appeared to have noticed, for he decided to put them into pairs and have them practice - despite the lack of instruction. Toshiro watched with no little amusement as Snape split up Harry and Ron, instead putting a kid named Finnigan with Ron and Harry with Dean. Hermione was paired with a square-jawed Slytherin girl that loomed over Hermione. She gave the girl a weak smile, but the girl simply glared down at her.

Lockhart and Snape made their way around the room, eventually getting to Toshiro. Most of the students had already paired up, but he was left alone. With a sigh, he looked at the boy standing next to the Slytherin house head. "Mr. Hitsugaya, you'll be working with Mr. Malfoy this evening," Snape said, and the Pure Blood stepped forward, flashing a well-practiced grin at the Shinigami.

"I look forward to it," he said, but Toshiro simply ignored him.

Snape and Lochart made their way back up the stage so they could be heard. Lockhart raised his hands, and the Hall gradually fell silent. "Face your partners! And bow!"

Toshiro and Malfoy turned to each other. Toshiro refused to bow to such an annoying prat of a human, so he simply inclined his head. Malfoy did much the same, a smirk forming on his lips. Toshiro wondered what he had planned.

"Wands at the ready!" Lockhart shouted. "When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents - _only_ to disarm them - we don't want any accidents - one...two...three-"

Malfoy reacted before the words had barely left his mouth, twisting his mouth with a grin. He shouted something, but it was lost in the general chaos that had ensued. Toshiro put up a shield, and the spell simply dissipated on the protective barrier. Toshiro lowered it and sent a babbling curse towards Malfoy, who threw himself to the floor to dodge it. The spell hit an unfortunate girl in the back, but luckily she started yelling at someone else - not making sense, of course.

Malfoy, meanwhile, had pointed his wand at Toshiro's knees and shouted, " _Tarantallegra_!"

Instantly, Toshiro's legs seemed to develop a mind of their own, dancing around uncontrollably. He gritted his teeth and pointed his wand at himself. " _Finite Incantatem_." Thankfully he regained control of his legs and shot Malfoy one of his best glares - though he really couldn't fault the boy, they _were_ in a duel, after all.

Toshiro was going to raise his shield again, but a greenish haze descended over the Hall turned battlefield, effectively silencing the students. When it lifted, most of the children had stopped their fights and were staring at the stage, from where Snape was doing damage-control. Lockhart was merely walking among the students, basically pleading for them to stop.

Nearby, Hermione and her opponent were still moving, but their wands lay forgotten on the ground several feet away. The girls were locked in a wrestling match, with the larger Slytherin having Hermione in a headlock. Toshiro sighed and pulled the Slytherin off Hermione, who gave him a grateful smile. He noticed she was keeping her hand clenched, and wondered if she'd broken it.

"I think I'd better teach you how to _block_ unfriendly spells," Lockhart said, looking flustered. Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Let's have a volunteer pair - Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you-"

"A bad idea, Professor," Snape interrupted, gliding over. His cloak flapped about him like the leathery wings of a bat. "Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest of spells. We'll be sending what's left of Finch-Fletchley up to the hospital wing in a matchbox." Neville's face reddened, but there was nothing he could do to deny it. "I would suggest Malfoy and Hitsugaya - I observed the boy using a defensive spell earlier."

"Good, good," Lockhart said, waving the two up on stage. Toshiro was barely able to keep from glaring at the Potions master as he passed. Of _course_ he had to single him out. This was starting to remind him too much of the Academy, where the teachers had quickly seen his skill and had him demonstrate various things. It had gotten to the point where Toshiro just wanted to stay in bed, he got so many accusing stares afterward.

Taking up positions on opposite sides of the stage, Snape talked to Malfoy while Lockhart faced Toshiro, speaking quickly and quietly so none but they could hear. "Right, you obviously know what to do, so I'll leave you be." He patted Toshiro on the shoulder and moved to the corner of the stage. Toshiro resisted the urge to burn the man's cloak and faced Malfoy. The boy was smirking, obviously having made a plan with his house head.

"Three - two - one - go!" Lockhart shouted.

Malfoy confidently raised his wand and shouted, " _Serpensortia_!" A long, black snake shot out of the end of his wand, thudding loudly on the stage. Toshiro hadn't been expecting that, and so only raised his wand when the snake reared up to attack. It didn't have the intelligent gleam in its eye that Sigruna possessed, and he wasn't about to reveal that he could speak to snakes - even if it was an entirely different language, no one would know that.

The students around the stage drew back with frightened screams, but Lockhart stepped forward. "Don't worry, I'll rid you of it," he said confidently, pointing his wand at the snake and giving it a little flick. The snake flew up into the air on a curved trajectory, aiming straight for Toshiro. Letting out a loud curse in Japanese, Toshiro put up a shield around himself, which the snake bounced off of and fell to the stage below. It landed on the edge, but its weight pulled it over, and when it straightened, it was looking straight at Justin Finch-Fletchley. Its fangs were exposed, ready to strike.

Toshiro lowered his shield, prepared to destroy the snake, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Snape raise his wand. Something quieted the students, however, and in the next moment Toshiro heard a dry rasping that he'd only heard from Sigruna.

"Leave him alone!"

All eyes turned to the boy who had spoken in Parseltongue - Harry Potter.

The snake turned from Justin, staring puzzled at Harry. It hissed but lowered itself to the ground. Harry smiled, and Toshiro knew in that instant, with the stunned silence, sudden tension, and the way Professor Snape had gone so still, that this was not a good thing. The Boy-Who-Lived was a Parselmouth. The news would spread like a wildfire, and by morning the papers would be reporting nothing but this simple fact. No, this was not good, at all. Toshiro wasn't sure exactly what the Wizarding World had against Parselmouthes, but he knew they thought of them as dark creatures. The fact that their supposed savior was one was likely to call into question just what they loved so much about the boy.

"What do you think you're playing at?" Justin shouted, running from the hall. Toshiro could see Harry's puzzled expression as he watched the boy flee. No doubt he thought he'd been doing something good.

With a quiet word from Snape, the snake vanished in a thin cloud of black smoke. Even the teacher was staring at the boy, but his gaze was shrewd and calculating. The students started muttering darkly, and Toshiro decided that enough was enough. He hopped gracefully off the stage, taking Harry by his elbow and guiding him out of the Hall, his wand still out. The students drew back to clear a path to the door, Hermione and Ron flanked them, and the four made their way to the deserted Gryffindor common room as fast as they could. Ron pushed Harry into an armchair, frowning deeply. It was a disturbing look for a Weasley.

"Why didn't you tell us you were a Parselmouth?"

"A what?" Harry asked. Clearly he had no idea what he'd done.

"Parselmouth," Toshiro said, wishing to get this over with as quickly as possible. No doubt the students would come back soon, and Harry needed to be elsewhere by then. There was no telling how the children would react to this. "You can talk to snakes - more precisely, you speak their language."

"What - no I can't! I can't speak anything but English! If I could speak in - in Parselmouth, then I think I'd know it!" Harry looked around almost desperately at the three of them. "Right?"

"No, Potter, you wouldn't, not if it is hereditary." Toshiro shook his head. "And the actual language is called Parseltongue. Someone who can speak it is just a Parselmouth."

"Hereditary," Harry repeated faintly. "But...why is it such a big deal? I bet loads of people here can do it."

"Oh, no they can't," Ron interjected. "It's not a very common gift. Harry, this is bad."

"Why?" Harry was turning a bit green.

Toshiro shook his head; clearly the boy wasn't understanding the gravity of the situation. "Look, Potter, you need to lay low for a while. This'll be out by the morning, but you can at least attempt damage control. Apologize to Finch-Fletley, first off."

"Finch-Fletchley," Hermione muttered. Toshiro gave her a look saying, _This is not the time to be correcting my English._

"I really don't see why this is a problem," Harry pressed on. There was a light of fear in his eyes. Good. He would need a healthy dose of it, to deal with everyone tomorrow. "I just told the snake to leave him alone-"

" _That's_ what you said?" Ron shook his head. "Mate, all we saw was a snake about to bite Justin's head off, and you looked like you were egging it on. How do you _not_ see this as a problem?"

"But..."

"Harry, haven't you ever wondered why the Slytherin symbol is a snake?" Hermione suddenly asked. Harry shook his head, and Hermione huffed with annoyance. "It's because Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth. He could speak to snakes, too."

"Then..." Harry looked between her and Toshiro. "If it's hereditary...but I can't be his relative!"

"You'll find that hard to prove," Hermione said dryly. "He lived about a thousand years ago; for all we know, you could be."

The portrait hole opened, and a couple students came in. It appeared that they hadn't heard the news yet, for they barely spared the four a glance.

"Come on," Toshiro muttered, pulling a stunned Harry to his feet. "You need to stay out of sight for a few hours. Let it die down. Go up to your bed. Close the curtains. Only come out for class tomorrow."

"But, I can't just hide forever." Harry didn't, however, resist as he was led up the stairs. Toshiro suspected he was in shock.

"No, but you can let the initial shock wear off. Trust me, it's better if you let things die down a little."

"Okay..." Harry numbly followed him up the stairs, fairly collapsing on his bed. Toshiro was about to close the curtains when he asked, "How do you know?"

The young Shinigami paused, thoughts thrown back into unpleasant memories. "I've never looked normal," he said softly. "It always startled people when they first saw me. I could often never get away from their looks and whispers. I don't think people ever really got used to me."

"Will they get used to this?" Harry's voice held a desperate undertone. Toshiro stared at him for a few moments, not accustomed to this strangely weak boy.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. Harry's face fell. "But it's likely they will, given time. Just...don't speak about it, okay?"

It didn't even register to the Captain that he was using the voice he used with his subordinates - usually new recruits - when they came back from a mission ashen-faced and shaky. He did the best he could to take them aside and talk with them, usually in the gardens by the pond. It helped if they were outside the formal workplace. People were normally more relaxed in the gardens, he'd found. Did Hogwarts have a garden? Doubtful. Well, the lake would probably do. He'd just have to find a place where they couldn't be easily spotted.

"Hitsugaya?" He was brought out of his musing by the boy's voice.

"Yes?" he answered, peering down at him.

"Will they hate me now?"

He must really be out of it if he was asking _that_. It was so out of his norm that it took Toshiro a few moments to collect himself. Harry must have taken his silence as an affirmative, as he laid back with a depressed sigh. Toshiro decided the best thing for him right now was sleep.

"Not the ones that count," he said softly before closing the curtains and leaving the dorms.

* * *

 **If readers have a question that they ask in a review, I generally answer in a PM. But in this case, I feel like many people could be wondering this, so I decided to answer here. In response to Paxloria's review:**

 **I can understand where you got the impression that Ginny and Tom were like a Shinigami/Zanpakuto relationship, but that was not my intention. Tom was controlling her, as stated in the books/movies. I'm simply submitting that, since all wizards have discernible reiatsu (for the purposes of this story), Hitsugaya could sense Tom's while he was controlling Ginny.**

 **Also, the reason Hitsugaya hasn't asked Sigruna about Tom before was that he didn't know about him, and she hasn't been talking to him recently for him to figure it out. He doesn't know that Tom is Voldemort, so he has no reason to go after Tom, other than the fact that he is controlling Ginny (which will cause problems in the future).**

 **I hope this clears things up.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter and Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Toshiro was up very early that morning, enjoying the blizzard that had started sometime in the previous night. The snowflakes whipped past, too fast for him to even make out their shape. But that was all right. It was snowing, and that was all that mattered. When the hour started to get late, he reluctantly went back inside, ready to begin damage-control.

Hermione and Ron were in the common room when he arrived, looking very serious. Toshiro knew they understood how delicate the situation was. If the school's will went against Harry, the boy could be in for trouble.

"Has anyone gotten up yet?" he asked, sitting on a chair by the table. Hermione and Ron were on the couch by the fire. She shook her head. "Good," Toshiro sighed. "This isn't going to be pleasant. We need to placate the students before they come to their own conclusions."

"And how do you expect to do that?" Ron was staring into the fire, the light flickering in his eyes. "They aren't going to like that he's a Parselmouth."

Toshiro caught the hesitation in his voice before he said 'Parselmouth'. "There, that's the problem," he said, sighing and resting his chin on his hand. "Even you, who knows that Harry means no harm, is afraid of him. What is it about you wizards that believe speaking to snakes is bad?"

Ron gave him an odd look, shifting forward on the couch to get a bit closer to the warm flames. "Every Parselmouth has been a dark wizard. People are going to think that Harry's a dark wizard."

Hermione snorted, and both males looked over at her. "It's just a _language_." She shook her head and looked over at Toshiro. "The Wizarding world is very different from the Muggle world. They are so behind on so many things."

Ron looked offended.

"Learn to accept facts and move on," Toshiro sighed, rubbing his eyes. "You'll lead a much happier life that way."

 _"Hypocrite."_

 _"Shut up."_

"Well, what are we going to do?" Hermione asked, shooting Ron a sympathetic look. "Should we keep Harry away from the others until they calm down or should we act like nothing happened?"

Toshiro took a moment before answering. "I think the solution is somewhere in the middle. Keeping Potter secreted away will only leave the rumors to fester. Nor should we try to force them to accept Potter's ability. Perhaps the best course of action is to attempt to integrate him into social life once more, but not too much. No, if he appears too much, people will begin to believe he is deceiving them. We should..."

Toshiro broke off suddenly, realizing he was rambling. "No," he finished lamely.

Ron snorted, and Hermione studiously looked out the window. He would have scolded them, but footsteps on the stairs made him look up. A fifth year was making his way down, yawning sleepily and rubbing his eyes.

"Meeting adjourned," Toshiro said, standing. "Prepare well for this day. The tide may roll out of our favor."

Ron rolled his eyes, but started following him up the stairs, Hermione just a step behind. Toshiro was on the landing when a loud thump made him look back, wondering if a chair had toppled over. Instead, he bit his lip in an attempt to keep his composure, for, lying on the common room floor, was the fifth year. His arms and legs were splayed out in all directions, a puzzled look on his features, as if he couldn't comprehend just how he managed to end up on the floor.

Ron was considerably less successful in holding his amusement, and let out a loud bark of laughter, making Toshiro jump. The redhead ducked down to lean against the wall, biting his fist in an effort to stem his laughs, but the older student had already heard. He was glaring up at the landing, which only contained Toshiro, now that Hermione had fled. Toshiro cursed his so-called 'friends' in Japanese, making no attempt to be quiet.

* * *

The dorm was dark, save for the thin light wavering through the windows. Most of the boys were still asleep, the deep scarlet curtains drawn around their beds. Toshiro stood still for a moment, listening to their deep breaths, and decided that none would wake up soon. He took long, silent steps to his bed, sitting on it and drawing the curtains. He reached under the mattress to his soul phone and flipped it open to see a message from Rangiku. Frowning, he opened it and quickly read the few lines of text.

Once he was done, Toshiro groaned and put his head down on the pillow, rubbing his eyes. She had _one_ job! Toshiro quickly typed out a message, but his anger was still running high, and he was forced to retype the message at least five times before he was satisfied Rangiku wouldn't think he wanted to kill her the moment the mission ended. Though that was still an option.

He read the message once more. **Take all the posters down and burn them. That is an order. Catch whoever was responsible for putting them up and make sure they are punished.**

He would kill her later.

He rose out of bed and put a mild repelling charm around it. He had no desire for anyone to find anything that would cause uncomfortable questions. He vaguely remembered a spell that made people lose their memories - he'd have to learn it. It'd come in handy.

Satisfied that everything was reasonably secure, Toshiro checked the boys' breathing again, and once he confirmed that they were still soundly sleeping, he went over to Harry's bed and put out his hand to draw aside the curtains. Then he hesitated. He didn't like people invading his privacy, and assumed others were the same way. If he drew the curtains, who knows what he might find.

Toshiro lingered for a few minutes with his hand up, but finally bolstered his courage and pushed them aside. Harry was sleeping on his side, facing away from Toshiro, who hissed, "Potter."

Harry didn't budge. Toshiro grumbled and said, just a little louder, "Potter, wake up."

This time Harry flicked his hand, as if swatting away a fly. Toshiro noted the movement. Odd.

With a soft sigh, Toshiro put his hand on the boy's shoulder and gave it a small shake. "Potter, wake up!"

Harry startled awake, sitting bolt upright and looking wildly around. Toshiro backed off, waiting for the boy to calm down. He noticed that Harry was squinting, and handed him his glasses. Harry put them on and looked questioningly up at Toshiro. The feeling was novel for the Captain.

"What are you doing?"

Toshiro resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "It's morning. You need to get up."

Harry frowned and looked over at his bedside table. "It's seven thirty!"

"Yes, and you've slept long enough," Toshiro snapped.

"But breakfast's at nine!"

Toshiro sighed irritably. "Look, you need to get prepared for today."

"What's today?"

Toshiro gave him a look, making the boy squirm. "Do you seriously not remember, or are you just joking around? If you are, I suggest you stop, immediately."

"I'm not - oh." Harry's face reddened. "Right. The snake."

"Genius," Toshiro drawled. "Get ready and come down to the common room." With that, he turned on his heel and left the boy to get ready in privacy.

* * *

Harry yawned and pulled himself from the warm bed, wondering at the kid's sanity. Who in their right mind would get up _this_ early? And, judging by the way he looked alert and his hair wasn't all mushed, Toshiro must have already been up for a while. Seriously, did he get _any_ sleep?

Harry dragged himself to the bathroom. As he brushed his teeth, he stared at himself in the mirror. His hair was growing long, his bangs falling into his eyes. Harry wondered if there was a barber at Hogwarts. If not, how did the teachers cut their hair? Did they use magic?

After spitting the toothpaste into the sink, he straightened, and everything from the previous night came rushing back. He grew pale, and lurched forward, only his grip on the sink keeping him from keeling over. The snake. Parselmouth. Justin.

His breaths came quick and shallow, and he distantly remembered something about hyperventilating. Was this it? What were you supposed to do? There was something about breathing into a paper bag - were there any around?

"Hey mate, you okay?"

The familiar voice snapped him out of his panicky daze, and Harry straightened, noting gladly that his dizziness was gone. "Yeah, fine."

Ron gave him an odd look, but jerked his head towards the door. "You'd better get down there. Toshiro's putting a hole in the floor."

Indeed he was. The small boy was pacing back and forth in front of his customary window, as if he were too nervous to sit. Harry stopped on the balcony to observe him for a moment. He really was tiny. Harry knew he didn't eat much, but his weight couldn't be healthy. Even Harry, who was used to skipping meals, probably weighed more than him.

"Are you done staring, or shall I pose?"

Harry blinked, then stood jerkily. "You don't have to snap," he muttered, hurrying down the stairs. Toshiro's angry turquoise eyes - Harry suspected he wore contacts - followed his every movement.

"Sit."

Harry sat, surprised at his tone.

Toshiro started pacing in front of the couch where Harry was sitting. The fire cracked merrily behind him, and Toshiro suddenly whipped around to glare at the thing. The flames died down a little, as if afraid of the little, white-haired Japanese boy.

"You will need to learn how to deal with stares and whispers," he suddenly said to Harry, who felt the need to straighten his back.

"I've always gotten stared at."

"Not like this. These stares and whispers will be dark. Angry. You'll want to stay away from them."

"Don't frighten him, Toshiro," Ron said, coming into the room with a box in his hand. "Do you want to play wizard's chess?" he asked Hermione, who shrugged, completely ignoring Toshiro's sputtered protest. They sat at the table, Toshiro stormed out of the common room, and Harry stared moodily at the fire.

"Oh, Herbology's canceled," Ron said suddenly, pushing a pawn into place. Hermione frowned at the board, and her pieces started yelling helpful advice at her, but it all jumbled into an indecipherable garble. "There's a blizzard."

Indeed there was. Harry hadn't noticed it before, but the wind was howling, and it was darker than it should be at this time of day. Harry sighed and shifted closer to the fire, which had sprang back to its usual size and intensity the instant Toshiro had left.

* * *

Wandering around the castle muttering angrily in Japanese was not how Toshiro expected to spend his day. He'd thought he'd have to run damage control all day in class, but since Herbology was canceled, he suddenly had a lot of free time on his hands. And, truth be told, he wasn't all that eager to talk to people. Socializing had never and would never be his strong suit. It was just the way he was.

 **" _No_ understanding,"** Toshiro grumbled, quickly striding forward. **"None! It's as if they're just cattle waiting in line for the slaughterhouse."**

There were barely anyone in the halls, and since he wasn't exactly paying close attention, it really shouldn't have been a surprise that he turned a corner and bumped into someone. Toshiro stepped back to regain his balance, and tipped his head back to see who he'd run into. His apology sounded false, even to his own ears as he stared at the person whom he most wanted to get rid of in this castle.

"My apologizes," he muttered, mouth twisting down in a barely-concealed grimace. The man apparently took it as guilt, or something similar, as he simply smiled and waved a hand.

"No worries, boy, no worries! No harm, no foul. Now, what are you doing up so early, and in such a bad mood? Girl troubles?"

Toshiro wondered if he were to kill the man, would anyone really miss him? He doubted it. "Nothing, just got in a small argument."

Lockhart nodded thoughtfully. "Ah, yes, the woes of the young. Well, my boy, I can assure you that everything will get better, if you simply give it time. Or, if you're in a rush, I could always come and help your friends to see the error of their ways..."

The man continued to ramble on, and Toshiro started thinking of ways he could politely end the conversation.

"Now, if you _really_ want help with girls, I'd be more than happy to oblige. We could come to my office and talk - in fact, I'm free now. Why don't you come along and have tea with me?" The incredibly annoying Professor put his arm around Toshiro's shoulders and started to steer him away.

Screw manners.

Toshiro stopped abruptly, and Lockhart had to skid to a stop unless he wanted to face plant into the floor. "With all due respect," Toshiro ground out, wanting nothing more to leave and never look back. "I have homework to do, and there's quite a lot-"

"Oh, that's all right, boy; it can wait." Lockhart chuckled, pulling Toshiro along again. "I've never met anyone quite so eager to do well in school before. You're one of a kind, did you know that?"

Toshiro stayed silent, unsure of how to respond or he was even supposed to. Lockhart didn't seem to care. He continued to talk as they reached his office, and once inside, Lockhart gestured at a chair for Toshiro to sit in, which he did. Now that he was there, there was nothing he could do to get out before the inevitable tea. Lovely.

Lockhart bustled around, starting a small fire and setting the kettle on. He then sat in the chair behind the desk, rambling about some time he defeated a ghoul. Toshiro tuned him out, opting instead to look around the office. The walls were bare except for the paintings of Lockhart himself. Toshiro even spotted one painting creating another painting of Lockhart painting a painting of himself painting a painting...and so on. It created an interesting effect, if you could get past the initial nausea-inducing image of several Lockharts in one small frame.

"You all right there, boy?"

Toshiro nodded absently, barely listening as Lockhart talked. His gaze wandered around the office again before settling on a letter resting on the edge of the desk. It was half hidden under a stack of books (all of which bore Lockhart's beaming face on the cover) but he could see some of the writing.

Memory Replacement Squ-

Professor Gilderoy Lockhar-

Assembled once again on your behalf-

This was all Toshiro could read before Lockhart hurriedly covered the letter up with a book. "It isn't right to spy on people's private business," Lockhart said, his face devoid of his usual fake smile.

"My apologizes," Toshiro said, inclining his head slightly. It was true. Even if the man was a complete fake and moron, Toshiro had no right to go through his things. Still, why would the Memory Replacement Squad contact Lockhart, and why did it say 'once again'?

"My, it's getting late," Lockhart said, cheery voice sounded forced. "You should get along to breakfast."

Taking the obvious dismissal, Toshiro left, and when he closed the office door behind him, he saw Lockhart's face fall into an angry and annoyed look. Something was up.

Then it clicked. Memory Replacement.

Lockhart had been doing something he shouldn't.

Toshiro allowed a grin to sneak onto his face. This was good. If only he could discover _what_ Lockhart was doing wrong, then he could get him fired and away from him. After all, it would be for his own safety. If the man stayed here any longer, Toshiro might just succumb to pressure and decapitate him.

Oh, what a cheerful thought.


	14. Chapter 14

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* * *

The Chamber was just as damp and cold as ever. Sigruna lay curled in a corner, head resting on her looping body. She stared blankly at the pitted wall, lost in the depths of her mind. The slow but steady dripping of water on her nose irritated her, but she couldn't work up the energy to move. She was just so _tired_.

She hadn't realized just how much she had missed Riddle. Even after he had rejected her all those years ago, she had held onto some hope that perhaps he still cared for her. She had even gone so far as to search for him. At the peak of her worry, she'd been leaving every night. These forays onto the surface world had slowed to a stop, however, once she realized just how much the world despised her. One peak at her scaly hide and they'd run screaming, try to kill her, or die. The girl was proof of that. Sigruna still remembered her last scream when her eyes had met Sigruna's, and how the light had faded from them as her body slid limply to the ground. There had been tear tracks on her face, Sigruna remembered. She must have been crying.

Sigruna didn't ordinarily care about the lives of humans - why bother? They were just going to die soon, anyway. But it had been hard, being cut off from everyone. Riddle had left her, and she had never known anyone else who could stand to stay in her presence, let alone talk to her.

She supposed that was why she had latched onto the tall, dark-haired boy. He was kind to her, and would stay down for hours to talk to her. He had such a charismatic personality that Sigruna felt herself drawn to him - even if he couldn't look at her. It was enough to talk to another living being.

Again, that must be why she'd immediately clung to the new boy. He could talk to her, _look_ at her, and he wasn't afraid of being around her. He seemed perfectly content to stay down in the Chamber and read, talk, or just sit in silence. He occasionally dozed off. The first time that he'd done this, it had scared her half to death. She looked down to see him motionless, eyes closed, and limp. She had panicked, believing that he'd died - that _she killed him._ It had taken some time for him to calm her down, but still she couldn't help but watch to make sure he was still breathing.

Two thumps behind her made her jump, and she turned to see Toshiro standing behind her, two chickens on the ground at his feet. "Here's your dinner," he said softly, starting to turn away. Sigruna watched as he disappeared, the brilliant white of his hair fading into the darkness. She looked at the chickens.

She never questioned where the boy got them - she hoped he wasn't getting into trouble for her. Sigruna extended her neck to scoop up the dead animals and swallowed, feeling them travel down her throat to rest in her belly, which rumbled angrily. Sigruna let out a soft hiss. The chickens had long ago stopped being enough to fill her up. She had considered asking Toshiro for more food, but eventually decided against it. She didn't want to be a burden on him, especially now.

It occurred to her suddenly, just how much the boy was doing for her. Even recently, with her ignoring him, he continued to bring her food, even sitting nearby and talking to her back. A guilty feeling bubbled up, and she knew that she had to make things right. It really wasn't his fault that she was so unresponsive after seeing - well, _smelling_ \- Riddle again. She didn't know what came over her - it was if his scent reawakened old and buried feelings. She just couldn't take his rejection again. And she was losing another friend - the second and probably the last one she would ever have. And she was pushing him away.

Making up her mind, Sigruna uncoiled and slithered after the boy. She could hear his footsteps fading away, and sped up her pace, fully intending to catch him before he left the Chamber. Unfortunately, by the time she reached the entrance, they had disappeared completely. With a frustrated hiss, she headed towards the tunnels, only for a voice to freeze her in place.

"Hunt...feed...blood..."

She listened, heart suddenly speeding up. That was _Riddle's_ voice! She lifted her head and flicked out her tongue, but she could not smell him, and a little bit of her hope died. Then the voice came again.

"Go...hunt...feed..."

 _Yes_ _,_ Sigruna thought, her mind going fuzzy. It was as if a wet blanket were draped over her thoughts. _So hungry..._

* * *

Toshiro was returning from yet another disappointing run to the Chamber. Sigruna, while she had not ignored him this time, simply looked at him with pitiful amber eyes, and he had taken the hint to leave. He just wished he knew where this sudden animosity came from. He knew it had to do something with this Tom controlling Ginny, but he didn't understand why Sigruna was having such an adverse reaction to it. Sure, it was disturbing and Toshiro wanted to find out how to stop it, but Tom hadn't done anything to Sigruna. There was just so much that he was missing, like missing puzzle pieces. It was frustrating.

It was midday, and Toshiro had just delivered two more chickens to the basilisk. He could tell that she was still hungry, by the hopeful looks she gave to his bag, but he wouldn't risk taking more than two chickens at a time. Hagrid kept hundreds - _thousands_ , probably - but he would eventually start noticing that they were disappearing, and then he would increase his security, making it much harder to steal two. Toshiro had no idea what he'd do after that supply dried up.

Toshiro sighed, stopping for a moment and leaning against a cool wall. Never before had he gotten so far from his original mission. Now he was chasing people possessing children and trying to coax a giant snake out of her depression.

Only in this school, Toshiro sighed.

Footsteps made him look up to see a familiar boy walk around the corner. Said boy paused when he saw Toshiro, but then continued on. "Hey," he said, voice low and clearly upset about something. Toshiro suppressed a groan. What was it with people and their problems?!

"What is wrong?" Toshiro asked, falling into step beside the boy, who shrugged.

"Nothing."

"That is obviously incorrect. Your tone and posture are clearly indicating that something happened. Now tell me. What was it?"

Harry shot him a look. "That's creepy; you know that, right?" Toshiro ignored him, letting the boy find his words. "I went to talk to Justin," he admitted finally. "I went up to the library - figured he'd be there studying, you know?"

"Did you find him?"

"No," Harry sighed. "I found a group of Hufflepuffs. They were talking - about me and the snake and Justin. I couldn't help but listen...I know it's wrong, but I just couldn't let that chance go..."

"We must do what we can to preserve ourselves."

"Yeah." Harry barely glanced at him. Toshiro got the distinct feeling that the boy was hardly listening to him. "Anyway, they said that I told the snake to attack Justin, that _I'm_ the heir, and that I wanted to kill Justin. I don't! I - I've never wanted to hurt _anyone_!"

Toshiro stayed silent, letting the boy rant. Better to let it out than keep it bottled in.

In his inner world, Hyourinmaru snorted. _"Shut up,"_ Toshiro said grumpily. The dragon rustled his wings.

"I - I just don't know what to do!" Harry ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up even further. "I'm _not_ the heir! I don't _want_ to hurt anyone!"

"Everyone who is important knows that fact," Toshiro said dryly. "The students have no sway in the rules and regulations - as long as the teachers believe you, you are fine. Don't worry about it. Soon someone will be dating someone else, and their attention will shift away from you. Just wait it out."

Harry looked decidedly uncomfortable with this decision, but didn't argue any further. After a bit more walking, Harry sighed. "Should I have been in Slytherin?"

Toshiro shot him a sideways glance. "I don't know. Do you want to be?"

"No..."

"Then don't worry about it."

"But I'm a Parselmouth!" Harry swung around to face Toshiro, who could clearly see the pain and frustration in the boy's green eyes. "All Parselmouths have been Slytherins - _Salazar_ Slytherin was a Parselmouth."

Toshiro's previously contained anger boiled over. He stepped forward and grabbed the neck of Harry's robes, pulling the boy down so he could look him in the eyes. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself," he hissed, and Harry's eyes opened wide. "Being a Parselmouth is not a curse - it is just another ability that you have. You need to stop worrying about what others think and _get on with your life_!"

Toshiro let his robes go, and Harry stumbled forward a step before regaining his balance. He was stuttering, not making any sense. Toshiro regarded him for a moment before letting out a sharp breath and walking away. Harry hesitated before running to catch up.

"Do you mean it?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious. "I mean - why do you care?"

Toshiro shot him an irritated glare. "Because you and I - however much I may wish to deny it - are friends. And I have been told that friends help friends in need."

"You had to be told that?"

"Shut up, Potter."

They continued on in silence, the halls strangely empty. Their footsteps echoed in the stone hallways, and Toshiro looked around curiously. "Where is everyone?"

"It's lunch."

His observational skills really needed work. Toshiro felt ashamed.

"I'm not hungry," Harry said suddenly. "Do you want to go down to Hagrid's?"

Toshiro shrugged. "Fine." He wasn't that hungry, anyway. Now that he didn't have to use up his reiatsu healing Harry, he was conserving most of his energy.

They turned, heading down and away from the school. Hagrid preferred to eat lunch at his house, not the school, so it was likely that he'd be there tending to his animals, even with the cold. Toshiro wasn't affected by it, but by the time they entered the coop, Harry was shivering. As they rounded the hill to his house, Hagrid was in the chicken coop, throwing seed on the ground. He heard them walking up and lifted a giant hand in greeting.

"Wha' are ya two doin' here an' not at lunch?"

"Oh, just wanted to visit, and we're not hungry," Harry said, sitting on a large chair. Toshiro leaned against a fence post. He was very familiar with the chicken coop, as he came down here quite often to get food for Sigruna.

"Well, I appreciate it, but I'm goin' up to Professor Dumbledore's office once I'm done here."

"Why?"

Hagrid made an odd sound, then pointed at the edge of the coop, where two small, motionless bodies were lying. "Two more 'ave been killed," the big man said mournfully. "I don' know wha's been goin' on; Lots o' chickens been goin' missing recently."

Toshiro felt a small stirring of guilt worm its way through his gut. He tried to get his face as emotionless as possible. "Why?"

Hagrid glanced at him and shrugged. "Don' know. But it's gettin' serious, an' I'm gonna' ask Professor Dumbledore to put up some wards aroun' the coops."

The guilt turned to annoyance. Of _course_ Hagrid would.

"Have animals been getting to them?" Harry was sitting forward on the chair., something Toshiro found odd. The boy looked - nervous? Why would he be nervous?

Hagrid shrugged. "Oh, a few dozen. But I fear it's gonna get worse." There was an awkward silence, in which Hagrid continued to feed the chickens. Toshiro watched as the small creatures pecked for the seeds, jostling for position and often pushing others out of the way. There was one in particular - a large, fat one - that seemed most aggressive. It hovered protectively over a large pile of seeds, clucking angrily at any that came near it. Soon the other chickens had cleared a space around him.

"Tha's Brandy," Hagrid said suddenly. Toshiro raised an eyebrow.

"Brandy?"

"Yeah. I spilled some brandy on 'im once."

"Oh." Toshiro watched 'Brandy' snap at a chicken that came into his little circle. "He's not too friendly, is he?"

"No. It's weird - his mama was a gentle old thing."

There was another stretch of awkward silence. Hagrid tossed one more handful of seed, then bustled around to put everything away. He stepped carefully through the congregated mass of chickens to get to a small tool shed, then made his way over to the two dead chickens. He grabbed their legs and slung them over his shoulder.

"Come on," he said, stepping over the fence. "You two need ta eat - ya too thin."

Toshiro, following Hagrid alongside Harry, made a face. He already got lectured about this enough from Rangiku and, most annoyingly, Mrs. Weasley. He never wanted those two to meet.

The three walked through the castle, which was still quiet. Lunch must still have been going on. They walked mostly in silence through the halls, though Harry was still shivering. He noticed Toshiro's looks.

"We don't all have natural immunity to the cold," Harry muttered.

Hagrid must have heard, as he chose to speak up. "Yeah, ya should bundle up, To...Tos..."

Toshiro winced. "Just call me Hitsugaya."

"Right. But ya really should..."

"What is it Hagrid?" Harry asked as the big man suddenly stopped, staring straight ahead. Toshiro and Harry moved to either side to see around. What was in the center of the hall made Toshiro curse in Japanese. Loudly.

There, lying on his back on the stone floor, was a familiar boy. Justin Finch-Fletchley stared at the ceiling with glassy eyes, a look of terror frozen on his face. His mouth was slightly open, as if he were about to scream. But that wasn't what caught Toshiro's attention.

Above Justin was Nearly Headless Nick, but not the ghost that Toshiro was used to seeing. No, instead of his normal, transparent form, the ghost was gray and smoky, the edges of his body flickering. He was also motionless, floating horizontally above Justin. His head was hanging half-off, the torn skin, muscle, and bone bared for all to see. Toshiro found his gaze drawn to the sinew and tendons, having never seen a body like this. Most of the time the view was obstructed with pouring blood.

"Merlin," Hagrid breathed, apparently unable to move. Harry broke himself out of his shock and stepped forward, kneeling beside Justin's body with a nervous glance at Nick overhead. He reached out a hand to Justin's neck, just under the chin.

"He's alive," he said, just as another ghost drifted through the halls. He first saw Hagrid and Toushriou, made a face in their direction, then turned and froze. He took in the scene; Nick's wavering form, a motionless student, and Harry with his hand on Justin's neck. Peeves was still for another moment, then took a deep breath to bellow his message all throughout the halls of Hogwarts.

"ATTACK! ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!"

Toshiro cursed their luck, but could do nothing as the sound of hundreds of footsteps approached. Within seconds, almost all of the student body was crowded into the hall, milling around and yelling, creating general confusion and chaos. Being as small as he was, Toshiro was squished against a wall, and was unable to move. He cursed in Japanese at the students around him, but they didn't take notice of the small Shinigami. They were more interested in trying to see over the others' heads.

Finally, there was a loud bang, and the students silenced suddenly. Toshiro sighed in relief, unsure whether or not his eardrums could take any more. Professor McGonagall's voice rose, and he figured that she must have fired a warning shot from her wand.

"Calm yourselves!"

The students mostly stilled, but Toshiro was unable to move away from the wall. He really did hate being small.

" _Caught in the act_!" A young, male voice suddenly shouted. It sounded on the verge of hysteria, and was shaky.

"That will do, Macmillan!" Professor McGonagall said sharply.

Macmillan...Macmillan...nope. Nothing. Toshiro came up blank, unable to place the name or remember a face.

He could see Peeves floating over the crowd, grinning manically and singing.

 _"Oh, Potter, oh, what have you done,  
You're killing off students, you think it's good fun-"_

"That's enough Peeves!" McGonagall barked, and the poltergeist shot her a sullen look before slinking away through a wall. "Now, everyone leave! Go back to your dorms! Not you, Potter."

The crowd of students groaned, but obeyed and started shifting in the opposite direction. Toshiro pressed against the wall in the hopes that they'd ignore him, and it worked, to some degree. He was only bumped into several times.

Eventually, there were only Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, Harry, Macmillan, and Toshiro left in the hall. Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra of the Astronomy department soon arrived and levitated Justin onto a stretcher, which they took to the hospital wing. There was some confusion about what to do with Nick, as no one could touch him, but McGonagall eventually conjured a giant fan and instructed Macmillan to waft Nick up the stairs. Macmillan did this, glaring at Harry until he passed out of sight. McGonagall turned to Toshiro.

"I thought I told everyone to go back to their dorms. That includes you, Mr. Hitsugaya."

Toshiro bristled. "I was with Hagrid and Potter when the discovery was made."

McGonagall looked like she wanted to argue, but sighed and looked at Hagrid. "I think it best if we all go to Professor Dumbledore's office." Hagrid nodded numbly. The four trouped along the halls, the only sound McGonagall's heels clicking on the floor. Toshiro fell into step beside Harry, who was looking alarmingly pale.

"Relax," Toshiro murmured, so quietly that only the boy would be able to hear. Toshiro knew he needed comforting, as his green eyes were filled with such distress and shock that Toshiro was surprised the boy hadn't keeled over yet. "You can't get in trouble for this. Hagrid and I are both witnesses. We were with you the entire time."

Harry nodded, glasses reflecting the light.

They wound through the castle until they reached a stone gargoyle that Toshiro remembered was the guardian of Dumbledore's office. McGonagall stood before it and said in a clear, surprisingly strong voice: "Lemon drop."

The gargoyle nodded and stepped aside to allow the steps to start spiraling upward. Harry turned to McGonagall. "Professor, I swear I didn't-"

"This is out of my hands, Potter," the woman said curtly, stepping onto the stairs. The others followed suit.

* * *

Dumbledore was remarkably similar to Yamamoto, Toshiro decided uncomfortably, the man simply stared at them. McGonagall seemed unaffected by the survey, but Hagrid, Harry, and Toshiro were shifting nervously, even the Captain. He had never liked one-on-one conversations with the Head-Captain, and Dumbledore unfortunately put out the same air - even the pitiful phoenix in the background added to the affect.

Finally Hagrid was unable to bear the silence. "Harry didn' do it, Professor!" Harry and McGonagall jumped, while Dumbledore simply looked at the big man, and Toshiro - sadly used to jump-hugs from Rangiku - sat quietly. This fact was not lost on the Headmaster, although he appeared to put it aside.

"And how do you know that?" he asked, looking to Hagrid.

"I was wit' him an' To-Tos-Hitsugeeya-" Toshiro winced. "when we found them! It _couldn't_ have been Harry!"

"And Mr. Hitsugaya?"

"Him, too. I was wit' them both. Neither 'ad time! I would swear it in front o' the Ministry o' Magic if I have to-"

" _Hagrid_!" Dumbledore shook his head. "I do not believe either boy did this."

"Oh," Hagrid said, appearing to deflate a little.

"Now then," Dumbledore said, looking down at the two boys sitting in front of his desk. Harry was nervously gripping the armrests so tight that his knuckles were turning white, while Toshiro was scowling. He was irritated - _more_ than irritated - that Sigruna would go out again so soon after he fed her and Petrify another two people. Something had to be done, and soon. The fact that he was also sitting in front of the Headmaster like a little child was not helping matters. "Is there anything either of you would like to tell me? Anything at all."

Harry shook his head and Toshiro was about to do the same when a sudden burst of light and a soft _poof_ drew his attention.

Toshiro cleared his throat, gaining Dumbledore's attention. "Sir, your bird just combusted."

* * *

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	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: All rights for Bleach and Harry Potter go to their respective owners.**

* * *

The Headmaster didn't seem too put off when his bird burst into flames. He simply dismissed Professor McGonagall, Harry, Hagrid, and Toshiro from the office. Toshiro looked back into to see Dumbledore bending over the pile of ashes, murmuring softly.

Great. The school was lead by a heartless, unemotional old geezer.

Professor McGonagall and Hagrid left as soon as they got to the Gryffindor Tower, leaving Harry and Toshiro to face the wrath of the students. Harry bore the brunt of it, as most people tended to over look Toshiro. Not that he minded.

Classes had been cancelled for the rest of the day, so the students just milled around the castle. Toshiro tried to talk to Sigruna, but he couldn't find her in the Chamber. He went down to the lake instead.

It was still snowing, albeit softly. The clouds were just a thin cover of gray overhead, but at least it succeeded in driving away most students. Toshiro was the only one sitting by the lake. There was a thin layer of ice on top of the water, but not solid enough to support weight. The giant squid easily broke through, long arms waving and twisting in the air.

 _"When it is thick enough, you should go skating,"_ Hyourinmaru suggested. Toshiro sighed and shook his head, running a hand through the snow beside him. _"Why not? It would be a good way to relax."_

Toshiro gazed out at the lake. It was so peaceful out there. There was just something about snow, that when it fell, all sound seemed to fade from the world. There were no sounds of fighting, raised voices, or even people. It was just him and his natural element.

The wind picked up a little, and the snow swirled, gathering around him. He watched in interest as it took form, compacting into a familiar body. Flakes settled into a long, serpentine form, wide wings, a head with an elongated snout, and crimson eyes sitting just below jagged scales of ice. The dragon curled around his master, humming softly. Toshiro leaned back. "Hey," he said softly. The dragon snorted, scattering a mound of snow. Then he disappeared, and Toshiro, off balance, fell back into the snow bank.

"Thanks a lot!" he shouted, spitting snow from his mouth. In his inner world, a certain dragon huffed with amusement.

* * *

The next couple days brought a mass exodus from Hogwarts. There were only a handful of students left, who either didn't fear the Heir or had no home to go to. In the Gryffindor Tower, only the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, and Toshiro were left. Toshiro hadn't really paid attention to the other Houses, as happy as he was with the current weather. As it was, he mood was sorely ruined when Hermione brought up the question of who was going to play the part of Crabbe and Goyle. There was only enough of the potion for three cups, and they had decided that those two would be the best to get close to Malfoy.

In the end, the decision was made when Toshiro fixed the three with his best _don't you dare cross me or I will feed you to Zaraki_ look and said, "You two will do it or it will be your last night on earth."

The choice was quite simple after that.

The two days before everyone left was filled with Hermione freaking out about the potion, Ron whining about the cruelty of waiting until the feast for the food, and Harry moping around the school. The whispers and glares were getting to him, and life in the Gryffindor Tower quickly became depressing.

At least it was snowing. Hermione kept trying Toshiro to bundle up, but he refused. Sadly, she must have brought it to McGonagall's attention, who told Toshiro to stay after one class.

"As long as students are wearing the uniform, I don't normally care what they do," the woman said, eyeing his clothes critically. "But you really should put on a cloak, at least."

Toshiro shook his head, planting his feet firmly. "Professor, I like the cold. If you don't mind, I'm going to the common room to study." Teachers always let you go if you said you were going to study.

After the train left, Toshiro was glad to have the school basically to himself. He enjoyed walking the corridors without seeing anyone, as well as the quiet that came along with it. All in all, he liked winter break.

* * *

Toshiro was woken very early one morning by a loud beeping. He lay in the darkness, blinking, before realizing what the sound was. His soul phone. Grateful for the silencing spell that he'd placed around his bed, he reached under his mattress and pulled the device out, quickly looking at the screen. Hollow. One. Strong, but nothing he couldn't handle. Truth be told, as he swallowed a soul candy and instructed his gigai to act like it was asleep, he was glad that it had shown up. He had been worrying about the sudden lack of Hollows, since last year had come with many. He had yet to find the weakness in the Hogwarts' wards, but now that one had arrived, he would have a chance at finding it.

He silently opened the dorm window and stepped out, gathering reishi under his feet so he could stand on the air. For a moment he just enjoyed the feeling of the cold wind and snow, and the freedom of leaving his gigai, then took a deep breath and shunpoed out to the mountains, where the Hollow was.

Strange. All the Hollows last year had appeared in the Forbidden Forest. This was troubling. Either the wards were weak in multiple places, his phone was broken, or it could hide its reiatsu. Any of these options could mean trouble.

The mountains surrounding Hogwarts were always green, even in the summer. Now, however, their lush landscapes were covered with the still gently-falling snow. Winter truly was the most beautiful time of year, Toshiro reflected, taking a moment to study a frozen waterfall. The snow and ice cover up all the imperfections in the world, leaving behind a clean slate. It was a time of death for many creatures, yes, but that did not deter him. He was, after all, a Shinigami - a Death God. He _was_ Death.

The ice of the frozen waterfall glittered behind him as he turned, flicking open his soul phone. The dot showing the Hollow's location was just over the far ridge. It was moving quickly, covering at least eight meters a second. And it was headed toward the castle.

Toshiro flicked out his sword, feeling and hearing Hyourinmaru's rumbling roar as he knew he would soon be released. Toshiro shared a rare grin with his zanpakuto spirit. It was winter, he was outside, without paperwork, and he was going to kill a Hollow. What could be better?

* * *

Animals with wings have an instinctive fear of larger creatures with wings. If such a creature passes by - especially overhead - the smaller bird will generally flee, unless it is protecting mate, offspring, or nest. Not even its kill will keep it there.

Phoenixes are no exception. Fawkes, whose lifespan has almost reached eight decades, fell victim to these instincts. And so, when he suddenly awoke on his perch, looked fearfully at the window, and hopped over to Dumbledore's shoulder, the old man was surprised. He had never seen the bird afraid before, and so naturally wondered if something terrible was about to befall the school. He stroked the bird's wing gently until he relaxed, but Fawkes did not return to his perch until at least half an hour later. Dumbledore rose and strode to the nearest window, which looked out over the Quidditch field in the distance, a portion of the school, and some of the rolling hills that led up into the mountains. The blizzard, which had started a week ago on the unfortunate day that both the Fitch-Fletchley boy and the Gryffindor ghost had been Petrified, had lightened into a mere sprinkle of snow.

Dumbledore looked out over the castle grounds, now sensing that odd presence he had come to be familiar with the previous year. It was light and crisp, similar to the frost that covered the ground as the weather turned worse. He hadn't sensed it nearly as much as last year - this was only the second time this year that it had appeared - but there was no way he could forget it. It always appeared after the darker presences come onto school grounds - those odd creatures that he instinctively knew meant harm to the occupants of the school.

The previous Headmaster had told him of the presence of these creatures - verbally, since it was a secret that only Headmasters knew of. He had also told him the spells that were most effective on the creatures, and to aim at the white heads that they all sported. Despite their different appearances, all the creatures had white faces. Although the previous Headmaster had not know what they were, he had warned that they were dangerous. And so they were. Dumbledore was kept busy defeating them whenever they appeared - among his other duties. But now, it seemed, there was a new force on campus that knew of their existence and was capable of defeating them.

Dumbledore turned from the window to go back to his seat, but kept careful watch over the two opposite forces. The lighter one seemed to be winning, as the darker diminished, then vanished altogether. The old man nodded, satisfied, but then wondered at the strange twist to the lighter force's feeling. It felt...contaminated, he decided. He followed it as it made its way toward the school, but then it disappeared once more.

* * *

The Hollow was persistent, to say the least. Toshiro had cut off one of its paws, and still it came at him.

The thing was long, many feet longer than a lion, but not heavier. It was extremely slender and flexible like a feline. Its claws, long, dark things, curved from furry paws and dug into the snow-covered ground when it leaped, using its muscled hind legs to push off. Two large, ivory fangs hung from its mouth like a saber-toothed cat. It had two straight horns that rose from its forehead, angling towards its tail, and was covered in a thick layer of shaggy tan fur, darker stripes concentrated on its back. What appeared to be black scales protected its shoulders and knees, and bushy fur, again like a male lion's, covered its neck and ran down its chest and belly. Long, thin whiskers grew from its mask, floating in the wind and almost reaching its tail. Its eyes were a deep, dark brown, and watched his every move.

It might have been elegant, were it not trying to tear his throat to bloody ribbons.

Toshiro let out a few choice words, all aimed at the Hollow. It crouched on the ground, opened its faintly snake-like mouth, and roared. The sheer volume alone was enough to make Toshiro want to cover his ears, but he needed to keep his hands on his sword. So, he opted to go temporarily deaf.

Funny, how much hearing affects your fighting ability. He had never realized before, just how hearing and balance are related. He _had_ , however, known the importance of balance when in a fight. In short - very important.

He never heard the tail whistling through the air behind him, and so was surprised and annoyed when he was suddenly flung to the ground. He hit and rolled, grateful for the advantages of having snow as your natural element. He sprang to his feet, sword held defensively in front of him. He was starting to regain some of his hearing, for which he was suddenly grateful.

Toshiro heard the scrape of claws on bark, and turned to find the Hollow perched on a thick tree limb nearby. It looked down at him, the tip of its tail flicking slightly. "I did not expect a Shinigami to be here," it hissed. Toshiro felt his eyes go wide.

"Oh, so you are advanced enough to be able to speak. Thank you, that is very helpful."

It snorted, claws tightening around the branch. "I would not be so optimistic, if I were you."

"Really?" Toshiro gestured at its front left leg, which ended in a bloody stump. The red liquid dripped in a steady flow, staining the snow below a deep crimson. "You look far worse off than I do."

The Hollow did nothing more than a simple glance down at its severed paw. "Yes, it is unfortunate. But that does not mean my defeat is assured."

"I agree." Toshiro was not nearly foolish enough to believe in certain victory when the opponent was only missing a limb. "I have a question, though, that I believe you will be able to answer. How did you get past the wards? Where is the weak spot?"

A low rumbling echoed through the forest, and with a start, Toshiro realized the Hollow was chuckling. Well, that was creepy. He'd never heard a Hollow _laugh_ while facing a Captain before.

"You don't seriously think I'll tell you anything, do you?" The Hollow dipped its head, mouth partially open so that Toshiro could see its barbed teeth in all their glory. They glistened in its mouth like rows of white horses upon a red hill. "Foolish Shinigami. I have no reason to tell you anything."

"So, you mean if I had something worth your while then you would tell me?" This was an odd development. The Hollow nodded.

"However, as I need nothing at the moment, your offers are worthless. The only thing I desire is the tasty soul of a Shinigami."

"Denied," Toshiro said, and raised his sword. The Hollow bunched its muscles, preparing to leap.

* * *

The potion bubbled merrily in the middle of the bathroom, as if unaware of the threatening glares Toshiro was giving it. This _thing_ was responsible for Hermione dragging him here just to check on the potion and wrap presents - for that matter, why couldn't she do it herself? - just after he returned to the dorms. Toshiro remembered the fight, and of the strangely good feeling that came with releasing his reiatsu. The Hollow had been destroyed - without giving him any information, but he could always wait for the next one - and he only walked away with a small scratch on his upper left arm. A good fight.

Toshiro yawned again, and put his head back against the cool stone of the wall. He felt oddly warm, and the cold seem to radiate into him, chilling his body down to a more comfortable level. It felt so good, and he could just go to sleep...

"Hey, wake up!"

Toshiro's head snapped up, and Hermione jumped back. He looked around in confusion, mind still fuzzy from sleep, and saw her glaring at him. She held out a quill. "Here. Wrap this."

"In here?" Toshiro asked, taking it. It was fancy, made of eagle feather. He idly started wrapping some of the green paper she had given him around it.

"Yes, here. We can't very well do it in the common room; they'll see - no, not like that!" She grabbed his wrist, stopping his movements.

"What? What's wrong with it?"

"You can't give him something so messy!" Toshiro looked down at it. The paper was rather rumpled, admittedly, but it served its purpose in concealing its contents just fine.

"Why not?"

"Because it needs to look nice!"

"But if he's just going to rip the paper away, what's the point?"

"I-It's not-" She broke off suddenly, staring at him. Her brown eyes were very round. "You don't celebrate Christmas, do you?"

Toshiro shrugged. Rangiku liked to throw the squad a sake party every year, but he'd never had to wrap presents. Or go to the party, for that matter. He usually just avoided Seireitei in general on Christmas day. You'd be lucky to find _one_ sober person, and living next to the eleventh meant disaster. They were rowdy on the best of days, but when the whole division was drunk...it was just better to be gone.

Hermione was looking like she had been slapped. " _Seriously_?!"

"Seriously." Toshiro almost feared she would asphyxiate if she didn't start breathing again soon. "Is that a problem?"

"Is that a - you've never gotten presents?"

"Well, Matsumoto always insists on giving me something, and Ukitake never lets a chance to give me candy go." He looked carefully over at her. "Please take a breath. I don't know how long humans can hold their breath, but you've got to be approaching that time."

Hermione inhaled deeply, then shook her head and showed him how to wrap presents, muttering under her breath the whole time about how 'No one should go without presents', and 'what kind of childhood did he have?!'

If only she knew.

A thought, disturbing and terrifying, struck him suddenly. "Granger, am I required to obtain presents for the others, too?"

She looked up at him, nodding. He groaned.

"Great. Maybe I'll just avoid everyone today."

"Oh, no you don't! You have to help with the Polyjuice Potion - make sure everything goes all right. You know, since you aren't going to drink it." She gave him a reproachful look. He sighed and gave in.

Oh, how Rangiku would laugh if she could see what her Captain had to do.

"May I borrow some wrapping paper?"

* * *

Toshiro sat beside the open window while Hermione went up to the dorm to get Ron and Harry. _"That was far below your dignity,"_ he grumbled to Hyourinmaru, who shrugged.

 _"I quite like making statues,"_ he said amiably. Toshiro rolled his eyes.

 _"The least you could do is support me. This is going to be humiliating."_

 _"Very well. What shall I say? 'Oh, poor, poor Master. You had to make presents! Do you want us to cry for you? Boo-ho-'"_

 _"Oh, shut up."_

 _"Which is it? Be sad or shut up?"_

Toshiro sighed and rubbed his eyes, hearing footsteps come down the stairs. For a moment, as he heard them clomp ever closer, he seemed to lose himself in darkness. It was all-encompassing, a black pit from which there was no light, only darkness. And from the darkness, shapes swirled around him, pressing in on him, drawing closer and closer...

"You got a headache, mate?" Ron asked. Toshiro looked up, relieved to find himself snapped back to reality. Hyourinmaru was rumbling anxiously in the back of his mind, just as disoriented and confused as he was. Toshiro took a moment to compose himself, then nodded.

"Yeah. Anyway, aren't you supposed to open presents?"

"Don't sound so enthusiastic," Harry muttered, looking over Toshiro's shoulder. A moment later, a strong gust of wind stirred his white hair, and a large shape flew by him. Hedwig landed on Harry's raised arm, holding out her leg. Harry took it and opened the envelope, sighing when a toothpick and a short letter. "The Dursleys," Harry said to answer their confused looks.

"I would like to meet them one day," Toshiro said suddenly, noticing Harry's grimace when he said the name.

"Yeah...I don't think that's a good idea..."

"Why not?"

Harry hesitated, looking anywhere but at the small Shinigami. "You...aren't normal."

"I am a wizard."

"There's that, and..."

Toshiro knew. "My hair. I am used to people staring."

"They probably wouldn't let you in the house..." Harry quickly moved on, clearly eager to get off this topic. As he opened Hermione and Ron's gifts, then one from Hagrid that he had to warm by the fire, Toushriou kept a careful eye on him. He was noting, using all his observational skills from being a Captain, all of Harry's movements, trying to discern them and, most importantly, the reason for them. He noticed nothing useful in this initial survey, but resolved to keep an eye on Harry from now own. He had a suspicion, and he didn't like it.

"Hitsugaya, didn't you get them something?" Hermione's stern voice pulled him from his thoughts, and he stared blankly at her pointed look before remembering.

"Oh...yes." He pulled his bag onto his lap, from which he pulled three small figures wrapped in green wrapping paper. As he passed them out, he knew Hermione was itching to find out what they were, as he had refused to let her see them before he wrapped them, on the grounds that he didn't want her seeing them before the others. The truth was much simpler. He didn't want her to see him using Hyourinmaru.

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed, hefting the figure. "What is it? It's so heavy!"

"Unwrap it and find out," Toshiro said dryly, returning to his place by the window. Then there was a sudden flurry of activity as the paper was torn away from the figures - in the next instant, gasps of surprise and what he hoped was awe.

"How...how did you get this?" Hermione asked, breathless and staring at the statue in her hands as if afraid it would break.

Toshiro regarded her calmly. "That is a secret I am tasked to keep."

"What - Is it ice?"

"Yes, Weasley." Toshiro looked at the one in the red-head's hands. It was an exact replica of the Weasley's house - every detail, down to the individual shingles on the roof to the patterns of mismatched paint - born from his memory. "It will never melt."

"How..."

"Really? We live in a world of magic. Should you be questioning how I made it, how the stars blaze and die, how bonds, seen and unseen, are forged? No, accept the world as it is - a wondrous place full of life and beauty. Enjoy yourself, all of you, as you never know when it will end." After his impromptu speech, Toshiro flushed and set himself to looking out the window.

"That was odd," Ron simply remarked, setting his statue on the table next to Harry's, which was a miniature Quidditch field, complete with fourteen tiny people on brooms. Toshiro noticed that Hermione was still holding hers, shaped in the likeness of the London Eye. She had remarked casually to him once that she had always wanted to go on it. She gave him a large smile.

The rest of that morning passed quickly. Hermione had gotten Harry an eagle-feather quill, and Ron got him a book about Quidditch. Ron simple gave Toshiro a box of chocolate, to which the Shinigami tried to wipe the look of exasperation from his face - he must have succeeded, as Ron didn't say anything, and everyone knew Ron was very blunt. Hermione had bought him a thick, green scarf to 'Keep you from freezing to death'. He nodded in thanks and wrapped it around his neck. She beamed.

Mrs. Weasley had made Harry and Ron her usual sweaters. Toshiro noted that he didn't get one. Ron gave him an awkward look, but they decided it was best to just let it go. Not that he would have worn it, anyway.

Soon it was time for breakfast, and the four stomped - well, Harry, Hermione, and Ron stamped, Toshiro's steps were silent - down to the Great Hall. It was decorated much the same as last year, with its usual splendor. Toshiro sighed as he sat. Clearly Dumbledore had not listened to his advice last year.

He barely at any food, not that that was unusual. He rarely ate anything at breakfast. At least it was snowing inside.

Toshiro absolutely refused to get up and sing Christmas Carols with the rest of the students and teachers, not even when Hermione attempted to pull him to his feet. He remained resolutely in his seat, and she eventually gave up.

Eventually, the few students remaining started to trickle away. The four quickly left to prepare. Hermione had given them a long lecture yesterday, to which Toshiro only listened because he knew the boys wouldn't remember anything beyond 'Now listen closely'.

 _"Simpletons,"_ Hyourinmaru rumbled fondly.

They waited outside of the Great Hall for Crabbe and Goyle to emerge from tea, arms full of sweets. Toshiro rolled his eyes. He watched as the two boys spotted the two chocolate cakes on the ends of the banisters, exchanged looks, and dropped everything in their arms to dive for the cakes. Toshiro wanted to face palm as they wrestled on the floor, grappling for the two cakes. Eventually, Goyle managed to stuff both in his mouth. Crabbe sat back in a huff, glaring at his 'friend'.

"What do we do now?" Ron whispered fiercely, peeking out from around the suit of armor they were hiding behind.

"Leave it to me," Toshiro sighed, striding confidently towards the two gorillas just as Goyle collapsed, falling into a deep sleep. Seeing this, Crabbe bent over him, shaking his shoulder in panic.

"G-Goyle?! What's wrong? Goyle!"

Toshiro wasted no time. They were on a schedule, dammit! He stood behind Crabbe and gathered himself to kick the big boy on the side of the head, effectively knocking them out. He was calmly regarding his work when Ron and Harry ran up.

"Bloody hell! Where'd you learn to do that?!"

Toshiro looked at him coldly. "Let's move them. We can't be late." Ron's eyes widened but he hurried to grab Crabbe under the arms and try to drag him away. Harry was doing the same with Goyle, but neither were having any luck. Toshiro sighed.

"Do I really have to do everything? Help Potter, Weasley."

Ron hastened to move over, and Toshiro grabbed Crabbe's arm and leg, slinging him over his shoulders. "Well, let's go," he prompted when Harry and Ron just stared at him. They blinked and, between the two of them, managed to get Goyle moving. Toshiro took a step forward, but then looked back at the mess of pastries and sweets that the Slytherins had dropped. He flicked his wand, charming them to follow him to the closet across the hall. Might as well give them something to do when they woke up.

Harry then pulled some hair from Goyle's forehead, and Ron from Crabbe. Then, after some consideration, they removed the Slytherins' shoes. Once they transformed into the boys, their feet would be too large for their own shoes.

"I'm glad Hermione was able to steal robes from the Slytherin laundry," Toshiro said, looking down at the two sleeping in a closet surrounded by a pile of sweets. "I have no desire to see these two half-naked."

Ron and Harry agreed wholeheartedly.

They hurried back to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, where the fun would truly begin. Toshiro looked down at the cauldron bubbling ominously, and grimaced. "This looks like vomit."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned lovely shades of green.

* * *

 **Here's another chapter! As usual, I hope you enjoyed. The reason I posted this today is because I've got a few days off. So, I decided to get some work done. Next chapter will be posted tomorrow or Tuesday - if not Monday, then definitely Tuesday.**

 **BUT BEFORE YOU GO!:**

 **Kudos and a shout-out in the next chapter to any and all who can identify the _Hobbit_ reference in this chapter. Bye!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter and Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Three glass tumblers were lined up on the toilet seat behind the cauldron of Polyjuice Potion, which, as Toshiro had so accurately pointed out, looked horribly similar to vomit. Hermione nervously filled the tumblers with a large ladle of potion each, then shook Millicent Bulstrode's hair into the first glass. The potion churned within the tumbler, bubbles bursting and small droplets flying over the rim. It turned a delightful yellow shade, one reminiscent of infected flesh.

"Cheers," Hermione said, looking queasy. She then handed Ron and Harry each a glass. "Here add the hairs."

Each boy did so. Goyle's potion frothed, eventually settling on a pale khaki color. Crabbe's ended up as a dark, murky brown.

Toshiro backed out of the stall, not wanting to be stuck in such a small space with three large people. "I suggest you drink it in different stalls," he called, sitting on a sink next to the invisibility cloak that Harry had left for him. "It's going to get tight in there."

Ron and Harry entered separate stalls, and Hermione closed the door. "Ready?" Harry called.

"Ready."

"One - two - three-"

For several seconds there were no sounds, but then the three started groaning and making sounds as if they were in pain. Then the sounds stopped, and a few minutes later, Harry - or rather, Goyle - came stumbling out of his stall. He was an exact replica of the big Slytherin boy, and if Toshiro had not known what was going on, he wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Harry lumbered over to the sink and looked at himself in the cracked mirror, touching his face. "How do I look?" he asked nervously, Goyle's voice low and gravelly.

"Hideous," Toshiro answered honestly. Ron came out of his stall next, looking just as disoriented. He peered at himself in the mirror, then made a face.

"I hope I don't get stuck like this," he moaned. Harry nodded. Toshiro looked over at Hermione's stall, from which the witch hadn't yet emerged.

"Granger? Are you coming?"

Hermione's voice - the first sign that worried Toshiro - floated over from the stall. "I - I don't think I'm going to come after all. You go on without me."

"Hermione, we know Millicent Bulstrode's ugly, no one's going to know it's you-"

"No - really," Hermione called, stalling Ron's attempt to cheer her up. "I don't think I'll come. You two hurry up, you're wasting time."

Harry and Ron glanced at each other, completely baffled. 'What do we do?' Harry mouthed to Ron, who shrugged.

"Potter, Weasley, you two go ahead. Remember, you only have an hour before you turn back." Toshiro hopped off the sink, and gave the two a light shove towards the door. "Go on. I'll take care of her."

"A - All right, but you'll make sure she's okay?"

"Yes, of course. No go!" They stumbled out the door, and Toshiro sighed, turning back to Hermione's stall. "They're gone," he said cautiously. "It's just us two-"

A sudden, high-pitched giggling interrupted him. Moaning Myrtle rose up out of Hermione's stall, a look of utter joy on her face. "Ooooooh, wait till you see. It's _aweful_!"

"Granger?" Toshiro asked, now very worried. "Look, if _she's_ happy, something's wrong." He ignored Myrtle's offended look and put a hand on the door. "If you're not decent, tell me now, because I'm coming in."

He had just started to apply pressure to the door when he heard her sigh. "Oh, fine. Just - don't laugh, all right?"

"Okay." He backed away from the door as the lock slid back and it swung slowly open. Hermione emerged, holding her cloak over her head. Myrtle, floating overhead, giggled. "Granger, please lower the cloak."

She shook her head. "I'm hideous."

"Something must have gone wrong," Toshiro said softly, going through all the possible options in his head. "Did it now work? You only turned part-way? Or it worked _too_ well-" He trailed off as she let the cloak fall. He stared at the black fur covering her face, the glowing yellow eyes, large, pointed ears, and the long tail that twitched behind her. "Oh," he finished faintly.

Hermione's pupils narrowed to meer slits, and she threw her arms over her head. "It was c-cat hair!" she literally howled. "M-Millicent Bulstrode m-must have a cat! And the potion isn't supposed to be used for animal transformations!"

"You'll be teased something _dreadful_ ," Myrtle said happily. Toshiro shot her a glare then took Hermione by the shoulders and sat her down with her back to the stone wall.

"Okay, all right, we - let me - let me think." He couldn't stop looking at her tail, and had to stare at a spot above her right shoulder. "Okay...I read something about messed-up potions and how to fix it...I just need to remember..."

"How?"

"What?" He looked down at Hermione to find her yellow eyes glossed over with a thin film of tears.

"How do you-" She sniffed. "You read about it?"

Toshiro nodded slowly. "Yes - at least, I hope so. I've spent a lot of time in the library."

Hermione laughed wetly. "You're an even bigger bookworm than I am."

"I suppose so. Now, hush. Just relax. Let me think."

They fell into a strained silence, only Myrtle's giggling interrupting the stillness. Toshiro was running through every wizarding book he'd ever read, unsure if he would even find the answer. There wasn't exactly a book on how to fix Polyjuice Potion screw-ups, sadly. Then, Toshiro remembered something that wasn't really for potions, but might work all the same.

"Right, Granger, I might have something that'll work. It's quite possible that it won't."

"Just do it," she sniffed.

"Okay." Toshiro pulled his wand from his boot and pointed it at Hermione. " _Reparifarge_."

Hermione immediately cried out, and Toshiro ended the spell. "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" he asked anxiously. She shook her head, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"I - I could feel my tail shrinking. The bones..." She squirmed. "It just felt weird. Go on, keep doing it."

"Fine, but tell me if it hurts." He waited for her nod before continuing the spell.

* * *

Harry and Ron were very curious to see what happened with Hermione, but it was several days before they would get their answer. After preforming the spell over and over, Toshiro went back to Gryffindor Tower, Toshiro leaning heavily on her. The spell, fairly advanced, took almost all of his energy to complete. That was his first time preforming it, as he had only read about it in books before. As a result he fell asleep as soon as he reached his bed. Hermione returned to her own dorm, unwilling to face the boys.

Toshiro didn't come down out of Gryffindor Tower for five days, causing Professor McGonagall to actually go up and check on him. He waved her away, saying he was fine, despite the warmth was was spreading throughout his body. The morning after he'd preformed the spell, it had gotten worse, and there was no way to fight of the sleep that loomed over him. It got better the more he rested, but it was still uncomfortable and he wished it would go away. Hyourinmaru was no help, grumbling that the inner world was 'melting'. Toshiro did his best to ignore the dragon.

He eventually felt well enough to go down to the Great Hall for food, but ate little. He mostly ended up drinking tea.

More and more, Toshiro found himself going out to the lake. He found a secluded spot that was surrounded by bushes that offered him protection from people walking nearby. He went there as often as he could, for the peace and the cold. It had stopped snowing, and the sky was a clear blue, but the snow was still thick upon the ground, and served in soothing what he now took to be a fever. He lay there one day, Hyourinmaru stretched out alongside him, staring up at the sky.

"I wish winter could last all year," Toshiro said suddenly. The ice dragon nodded, spreading his claws in the snow. "It's so much better than summer."

 _"It is. But winter cannot go year-round. The plants and animals need time to recuperate."_

"I know," Toshiro sighed. "Maybe when this mission is over...we can just move to the mountains. Stay there all the time."

 _"You have your duties as a Captain."_

"I do."

They were silent for a long time before Hyourinmaru decided to speak again. _"Master."_

"Yes?"

 _"Do you..."_ He trailed off, hesitant.

"Do I what?" Toshiro ran his fingers through the snow, creating little furrows. Being outside in the cold was helping his fever, and he could already feel himself cooling down.

 _"Do you...have you noticed the changes?"_

Toshiro frowned. If the words didn't worry him, the dragon's tone certainly did. "No, I haven't. What changes?"

Hyourinmaru huffed, turning his head away. His icy tail curled around Toshiro's small body, bringing the boy closer. _"Nothing. I worry too much."_

"Hyourinmaru, I would rather have you worry than have you complacent. What is it?"

 _"Forget I brought it up."_

"Hyourinmaru..."

 _"Rest, Master."_ The dragon turned one crimson eye on the Shinigami. _"Rest."_

Toshiro sighed but closed his eyes. He knew better than to argue with the dragon when he was in this mood.

* * *

The Great Hall was just as quiet as usual with so many people gone. Hermione slid into her spot beside Ron and Harry and pulled a plate closer. "Hey guys."

"Hey," they chorused. Harry was nibbling on a piece of toast, while Ron was stuffing his mouth full of sausages. Hermione was forced to look away from the red-head, lest her stomach rebel.

"Have you seen Toshiro?" Harry asked suddenly, turning to Hermione. She shook her head.

"No. Why?"

Harry shifted nervously, setting his toast down on his plate. "Well, he wasn't in the dorm last night, and I don't remember seeing him at dinner, either. Ron, did you see him?"

Ron looked up, fork halfway to his mouth, a sausage speared on the prongs. "No."

Hermione and Harry grimaced, having had the unpleasant honor of seeing the mashed contents of Ron's mouth. "Please swallow before you talk," Hermione said. "None of us enjoy it."

Ron shrugged. "Don't look."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Males." She turned her back on Ron and faced Harry again. "When was the last time you saw him?"

Harry had to think for a moment, looking up towards the ceiling. "Um...breakfast yesterday...I think."

Hermione's eyes went wide. "Really! And you never thought to mention it?"

"What do you think I'm doing now? Besides, you didn't notice he was gone, either."

"What makes you think that?"

"You haven't asked about him!"

"I don't see him all the time."

"No, just when you're awake."

"You-"

"Guys!" Ron suddenly interrupted, pointing with his fork. Professor McGonagall was striding down the hall, heading their way. Hermione and Harry broke off their argument to look.

"Great, what have you done now?" Hermione asked sarcastically.

"Us? Maybe she's here for _you_!"

"Look at her expression. She's not happy; she's here for you."

Harry opened his mouth to deliver what was a witty retort - in his opinion - but McGonagall stopped by them. "Weasley, have you seen your sister?" she asked. Hermione gave Harry a triumphant look. He stuck his tongue out at her.

"No, Professor," Ron answered. "Why?"

McGonagall pursed her lips. "We need to talk to her about something. If you see her, could you send her to my office?"

"Sure."

McGonagall left, and the trio immediately leaned forward to whisper.

"Told you."

"Shut up."

"What do you think she wants Ginny for?" Ron asked, looking down the table. McGonagall had just finished speaking to the twins, and was now headed up to the head table. She didn't look happy.

"No idea," Harry shrugged. Then a silly grin spread across his face. "You know...Ginny and Toshiro are both missing...do you think they're missing _together_?"

Ron made a face, then pelted Harry with bits of bacon. "Don't say that!"

Harry laughed, holding up his arms to defend his face. "All right, all right! I take it back!" When Ron had ceased his assault, he lowered his arms, and uncharacteristically serious look on his face. "But seriously...do you think they could be together?"

"In what way?" Hermione asked. "There's a lot of meanings for 'together'."

"I don't know. Any of them, I guess."

Hermione shrugged. "Well, anything's possible."

"But where could they be?"

The three were silent for some time. Then Ron spoke up. "Should we look for them?"

Hermione and Harry nodded, and they stood, heading for the doors.

* * *

The world was a wash of gold and blue. The two colors bled into each other, staining and blurring the lines of the imagined and reality. Toshiro floated in the middle of this world and held up a hand. Immediately, the two colors recoiled away from each other, sliding and gathering into two shapes. The blue one was large and familiar - Hyourinmaru. The gold shape was smaller, dwarfed by Hyourinmaru, but its features were too blurred and indistinct to make out. Even the edges of its form were wavering, and he was unable to get a good look at it. Toshiro opened his mouth to call out, but he felt an abrupt impact in his ribs, and he was suddenly awake in the same bush-surrounded clearing that he'd fallen asleep in. Now, however, instead of lying beside Hyourinmaru, he was lying against the bushes, and not far away was an explosion of snow.

Toshiro sat up, ignoring the dull throbbing in his ribs. He could tell they weren't broken, so he didn't worry about them. He had other things to think about.

In the middle of the clearing was Hyourinmaru and a large, dark green shape. Hyourinmaru snarled, rearing back, and Toshiro could see it clearly. He saw the scales, the snapping mouth, and the glowing yellow eyes.

Wait - yellow?

Toshiro looked again. His eyes weren't failing him - Sigruna's eyes were yellow, not their usual warm amber. What did this mean?

Hyourinmaru lunged forward, digging his claws into Sigruan's back. The basilisk hissed, eyes flaming bright. She twisted her head around and bit deep into Hyourinmaru's neck. The dragon whipped his tail around, smashing it into her cheek. She returned the favor.

When the two beasts broke apart, Toshiro stumbled forward. "Sigruna! What are you doing?"

She turned her yellow eyes on him, and he was startled to find them full of anger and resentment. She didn't respond except to hiss at him. Hyourinmaru drew back and curled around Toshiro.

 _"She is taken,"_ he said. Toshiro looked up at his head, which hovered just above his own.

"Taken? What do you mean?"

Hyourinmaru snarled, curling his upper lip. His rumbling growl shook the ground. _"She is no friend of yours any longer. I will deal with her."_

He lunged forward to continue the fight. Toshiro raised his hand. "Wait! What are you-"

"Let them fight."

The new voice made him pause, and he whirled around to find him face to face with Ginny. Except this wasn't Ginny.

"Riddle," Toshiro growled, his inner dragon rearing its head. "What have you done to Sigruna?"

"Me? Nothing." Ginny grinned, but it wasn't her normal look. It was the smile of one who is evil, knows it, and embraces it. "I have given it the power to do what it has always wanted."

"And she's always wanted to attack Hyourinmaru? Yeah, I doubt that."

"Not your pet dra-" Here Hyourinmaru's tail swept around. Toshiro sensed it coming and crouched, but Ginny only just threw herself to the ground in order to avoid having her head knocked from her shoulders.

"Hyourinmaru's not my pet," Toshiro growled. Ginny studied Hyourinmaru.

"You're right. I don't know what he is. For that matter, I don't know what _you_ are." She turned to shout at Sigruna. "End this fight now!"

Sigruna hissed in response and tightened her grip around Hyourinmaru. She had managed to pin his wings with her body, and was wrapped around him like a boa constrictor. Toshiro, connected to Hyourinmaru as he was, knew that the dragon was holding back. He was hesitant to deliver the final blow, as he knew how Toshiro felt about the basilisk. Hyourinmaru strained his wings and pulled at Sigruna's body with his claws.

"You can't defeat him," Toshiro said, turning back to Ginny and Tom.

"And why is that?" Tom sneered.

"I am not nearly foolish enough to tell you my strengths and weaknesses," Toshiro said dryly, watching the fight. "Figure it out on your own."

"Oh, I will."

Toshiro frowned at this, looking back, but a red flash filled his vision before he lost all strength in his body and fell onto his back, unable to move. The last thing he saw was Tom using Ginny to look down at him, grinning that maniacal grin, and Hyourinmaru's head over him, mouth open with a roar that echoed in the darkness that Toshiro sank into.

* * *

Tom watched Hitsugaya's expression morph into one of shock as he fell back into the snow. His dragon broke free of the basilisk, mournful roar coming from a throat that disintegrated even as Hitsugaya closed his oddly colored eyes. The basilisk slipped to the ground, wearily slithering over. A quick glance showed several cuts oozing blood, but nothing life-threatening. It seemed the dragon had been holding back.

Sentimentality. Such a useless thing.

"Bring him back to the Chamber," he ordered the basilisk. "If he wakes up before I arrive, keep him there." The basilisk nodded, and he turned on his heel, having no doubt that his order would be followed.

After all, there was no way it could disobey.

His goal had been achieved - capture the creature that was parading around the school pretending to be a student. Tom snorted at the thought. What were the foolish teachers doing, if they couldn't even tell that he wasn't human?

As he walked back to the school, he entertained himself with thoughts of what he would do next. He could do anything. The only one in the entire castle who knew of his existence was going to die - after he found out what species he was, of course. Hm...how should he go about doing that? The boy was not just going to give up his secrets; he would put up a fight. But that was fine. It would make things more interesting.

 _"Any ideas?"_ he asked the pathetic girl that he was using. He allowed her consciousness to surface slightly, just enough to hear her screams and protests, and to feel her struggling. Her emotions washed over him - terror, regret, worry. With a soft laugh, he pushed her under again. _"No? Nothing? Very well. I'll come up with something on my own."_

His thoughts turned to the boy's capture. It had seemed...a little too easy. After all, the boy had just been lying there, asleep. Tom had suspected a trap, but nothing had happened. The dragon, who had been curled around him, had only attacked after the basilisk had arrived, and had even taken the time to push the boy away to 'safety'. Tom grinned. Its expression when Hitsugaya had fallen was priceless. Such a desperate, fearful look.

Beautiful.

Tom entered the castle. What to do now?

"This is going to be fun," he announced to the empty hall. "Beware, Hogwarts. The Heir has returned."


	17. Chapter 17

**I apologize for the extreme lateness of this chapter. School has been very busy at the moment, and when I finish with it, all I want to do is sleep.**

 **Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter and Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

The castle was very quiet that night as Tom walked through its empty halls. Even the portraits were blank, their occupants having fled in fear. Tom smiled at the thought; even his meer presence could send the weak fleeing for their lives.

As he ascended the grand staircase, he felt a twinge in his gut. With an irritated snarl, his hand tightened around the wooden banister. "Not now," he growled angrily. "Not when I have so much to do!"

He could feel his control over the girl failing. She was struggling for dominance, sensing his weakening hold. Tom tried to force her back down, but there was nothing he could do. Within seconds, his grip on the girl's body failed and he was ejected, forced back into his diary. He settled there once more as the girl straightened, looking around in confusion. Tom settled for dark brooding as she started walking - to where, he did not care. Until he regained enough strength to fully control her, he would bide his time.

His thoughts turned suddenly to the boy he had captured earlier. Even within the confines of his self-made prison, Tom grinned. He had accomplished one thing that night, at least. This entire trip hadn't been a waste.

And if the boy had to go without food for several days while Tom gathered his strength - well, that was all the better. Starved prisoners gave up their secrets much more readily than satiated ones.

* * *

The fire crackled merrily in the fireplace, its flickering flames lapping at the stone that formed a protective ring around it. It warmed the large room, waging a perpetual war against the frigid air outside. The sun had set hours ago, but the air carried a crisp tint along with a biting wind that tore around the common room if the window were opened. The three sitting on the couch by the fireplace entertained no thoughts of opening said window; they were deep in discussion about a certain white-haired individual.

The first, a small, green-eyed figure sat on the end, staring absently into the fiery coals, leaving his two companions to argue. He had no interest in interfering in what was shaping up to be a sizable fight. Next to him was the other boy, a redhead with many freckles and a startlingly large nose. This boy was leaning back against the couch, watching the only girl practically shouting.

"We can't just give up on him!" her brown eyes flashed dangerously in the low light. The red-head put his hands behind his head, interlocking his fingers.

"We're not. Let's just tell the teachers in the morning. They'll be able to do much more than we can."

Hermione took a step forward. "You don't care what happens to him? How could you?"

"I care." Ron lowered his arms. "I just think he can take care of himself. We're at _Hogwarts_ ; enemies can't get past the wards."

"Did you learn _nothing_ from Quirrell? There can be enemies inside the wards!"

Harry sighed, holding his hands out to warm them by the fire. His friends continued to fight, but he zoned out. He _did_ wonder what had happened to Toshiro, but for some reason he wasn't particularly worried. He just had a feeling that he could take care of himself.

Harry's thoughts now turned to Toshiro himself. From the moment that they had met on the train, he'd felt that the white-haired boy was different. Harry couldn't place it or say exactly what it was, but Harry was almost...wary of him. He knew, instinctively, that Toshiro was dangerous, like a wild predator. It was present in his every movement: graceful and measured, but above all, silent. The boy never made a sound when he walked and ran. It was unnerving how well he could sneak up behind you.

It wasn't just his movements that made Harry wonder. Toshiro excelled in all his classes - was better than Hermione, probably - and didn't ever seem to struggle. It was most pronounced in Potions, where he focused on his cauldron with a determination that was slightly worrying. Harry had caught a glimpse of his eyes one class, and had completely frozen, feeling like a deer caught in headlights. Those eyes were not the eyes of an eleven year old. No, they were much, much older. They had seen terrible things more times than he could count. In the turquoise depths was pain, worry, and resolve. When Toshiro had seemed to notice him staring, he looked over without changing his expression. The full force of those eyes on him had been like a speeding truck; he couldn't move. Only when Toshiro shook his head and looked away was Harry freed.

He had never brought up the incident, and neither had Toushriou. It wasn't as if Harry knew what to say. You couldn't just go up to someone and ask them to spill their deepest, darkest secrets. And somehow, Harry knew, Toshiro had such secrets that he would never reveal.

That wasn't all that made Harry wonder about the boy. Starting since he had woken up from being knocked out by the Bludger the previous year, he had started feeling weird things - things that he hadn't noticed before. It was dull and muted, but it was as if one of his senses had been previously blocked and had only now cleared, letting all the information in. He couldn't explain it, and didn't even know what it was, but he could sense it most clearly around Toshiro. It swirled around him, cold and dangerous. He had even noticed that sometimes, when Toshiro got angry enough, his eyes would flash white. Harry thought it had just been a trick of the light, as no one else had said anything about it, but he was starting to wonder. Just what was it that was different about Toshiro?

The sound of the portrait door opening and slamming shut drew him from his thoughts. Harry jumped, realizing that he'd been zoning out for a long time. Not that Hermione and Ron had noticed. They were continuing to argue, but broke off when someone stepped in front of the couch.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" Ron asked. Harry looked up.

Ginny was standing with her feet apart, as if bracing herself. She was rubbing her arms, and her expression was one of worry and fear.

"I don't - why are you arguing?" Her voice was soft and wavering. Harry frowned. Something was obviously wrong, but what?

"We haven't seen Hitsugaya since yesterday," Hermione answered. She was looking closely at Ginny, clearly trying to see what was making Ginny so upset. "You were gone today too, so we were wondering if you were with him."

Ginny immediately shook her head. "No, I haven't seen him for a while. We aren't very close, and don't hang out together."

Harry noticed Ron relax slightly, and couldn't resist a small smirk. So the protective older brother had already appeared, huh?

"Well, do you know where he could be?"

"No."

"That settles it." Hermione started towards the door with a determined look. "I'm going out to look for him."

Just as Ron started to protest, a clap of thunder echoed throughout the room, and all four froze. As the thunder died away, there was a brief moment of silence, then with a sudden fury, rain started pelting down. It struck the roof, creating a continuous, rolling roar. Then, as if to add to the insult, the bell rang, tolling through the school.

"There you have it," Ron said, smirking. "You can't go out now, unless you want to be punished for being out after hours."

Hermione hovered by the door, wavering between sticking to the rules and going out to look for her friend. "Why don't we go ask the teachers to look for him tomorrow?" Harry suggested suddenly. "I'm sure this has happened before; they'll find him in no time."

With a hesitant nod, Hermione came back to sit heavily on the couch. "This sucks," she announced to no one in particular.

* * *

When the sun dawned upon a clear sky and wet ground, Hermione was already up. She had hardly been able to sleep the previous night, and when the rolling rain had suddenly stopped an hour or two ago, she had awoken in the abrupt silence. She had lain quietly in her bed, nervous and waiting for the curfew to end so that she could go search for her friend. The thought came that Toshiro may have come back sometime in the night, but for some reason she seriously doubted it. She just _knew_ that he wasn't there. Her stomach twisted with worry, and when the hour turned over, she bolted down the stairs.

Harry and Ron weren't in the common room, so she set to pacing around the couch. Someone's cat was curled up on the back of the couch, nose tucked neatly under a curled paw. It was watching her with pale blue eyes as she circled around and around the furniture.

Finally, after about an hour, she couldn't stand it anymore and marched out of the common room and headed to the Great Hall. She knew Toshiro was an early riser - she had never gotten there before him - and there was a part of her that hoped he was there, sitting at the Gryffindor table, drinking tea. As she rushed through the nearly empty castle, the portraits sleepily wondering why she was up so early, thoughts rushed through her mind. She remembered when they'd met, and she'd been struck by the color of his hair and eyes, but also by the fact that he didn't seem to care - or know - that Harry was _the_ Harry Potter.

For some reason, the night of the troll attacked flashed through her mind. She remembered it clearly, how Ron had insulted her, and she had fled to the bathroom to cry. She had been unaware of the situation, and was startled when the door banged open, a foul smell filling the room. She remembered her terror as the troll spotted her, and the panic that had set in when she thought she was going to die. She probably would have, Hermione reflected, slowing to go down the stairs. She would have died that night, had it not been for the boys.

Harry and Ron had soon arrived and set about distracting the troll. She was so caught up in her fear that she didn't even notice Toshiro slipping in until his arms had slid around her, scooping her up. He was strong, and had lifted her as if she weighed nothing. He started for the door, but had paused when Harry leaped onto the troll and shoved his wand up its nostril.

When the teachers arrived and while Ron and Harry were giving their account of what happened, Hermione stood close to Toshiro. She wasn't sure he noticed, he was so busy glaring at the boys.

Toshiro had always been a little different than everyone else, Hermione realized, stopping completely. She stared at the floor, lost in thought. He was quiet, yet she could tell that he was passionate. About what, she had yet to find out. He seemed to hold everyone with a sort of disregard and indifferent feeling; he didn't care about others, she thought. And yet, when Harry had been unconscious in the hospital, she knew he cared. He did care about them, even if he would never admit it.

Toshiro hardly ever talked about his home, and she knew next to nothing about him. She sensed that he didn't want to, or couldn't, but either way, any questions about his home and he would usually clam up and refuse to talk. And it was impossible to get him to talk when he didn't want to.

With a start, she realized that she had been staring at the floor for some time, and so started hurrying again towards the Great Hall. These thoughts could wait until he had been found, and she could ask him in person. For she had many questions.

Arriving at the Great Hall, she took it in a quick glance. Professor McGonagall was the only one up, the _Daily Prophet_ in hand, quietly scanning the text. She glanced up and gave a small nod to Hermione, to which she hurried down to take a seat at the Gryffindor table. She was too nervous to eat, so she simply sat with a goblet of pumpkin juice to wait.

Time passed, and the few students still at Hogwarts slowly came and went. Ron and Harry arrived near the end of breakfast, much more subdued than normal. Once they had eaten, Hermione practically dragged them out of the Great Hall.

"Where are we going?" Ron asked, looking around. Hermione was leading them to a part of the castle that they hardly ever visited.

"To Dumbledore's office," Hermione replied. "He'll find Hitsugaya."

They traveled in relative silence until they arrived at the stone gargoyle that Hermione had read guarded Dumbledore's office. They then faced the dilemma of how to get in, since it required a password, and none of them had it. Hermione tried thinking logically, but then Ron pointed out that Dumbledore was loony, and there was absolutely no way they could guess his password. Reluctantly accepting defeat, Hermione dragged the boys away.

Hermione turned the corner to see Professor McGonagall leaving the Great Hall. "Professor!" she cried, hurrying towards their teacher, who turned curiously.

"Yes?" she asked, taking in Hermione's worried expression.

Hermione didn't bother taking time to catch her breath. "Hitsugaya hasn't...two days...missing!"

"What?" McGonagall asked, completely baffled. Harry rolled his eyes and stepped in, much more coherent than Hermione.

"We haven't seen Toshiro for two days, and we're worried. He hasn't been in the dorm, and we can't find him anywhere in the castle."

McGonagall's eyes darkened. "Is that so? Where did you last see him?"

Harry and Ron exchanged a look. "Dinner two nights ago?"

McGonagall nodded. "Very well. Thank you for informing me. I shall tell the teachers, and we will start an immediate search of the castle." She turned away, but Harry stopped her."Wait! Can't you - or Dumbledore - just - I don't know, just cast a tracking spell or something?"

"Dumbledore is away at the Ministry," the teacher said. "And no, we can't. We will keep you informed." She turned on her heel, moving quickly away.

The three turned to each other with hopeless looks. "Well...there's no point in just sitting around," Hermione said flatly. "Why don't we all split up and look?" The boys nodded, and they separated.

* * *

As he came slowly to consciousness, the first thing Toshiro was aware of was the heat.

It seemed he was filled with fire, slowly burning from the inside. Even the hard stone under him was warm, but the stone away from him was cold.

Toshiro slowly opened his eyes and found that the world was blurry. It took several minutes of blinking for it to sharpen, and once he did, he discovered several important things.

First, he was once again in the Chamber. The large ice sculpture of Sigruna was on the other side of the room, and he was lying next to one of the water channels that ran around the outside of the room. Second, his head and shoulder were throbbing. His head he guessed was from the fever, but he couldn't understand why his shoulder would hurt. Finally, when he sat up to inspect the room, he saw that Sigruna was lying not far away, watching him with those strange yellow eyes. He wondered briefly if this was not Sigruna at all, and if she had a brother or a sister, but no. There was not a second basilisk in the school. There couldn't be.

"Are you going to attack me?" he asked her cautiously, putting a hand up to rub his temple. The simple act of sitting up had made him dizzy, and his vision swum again.

Sigruna stayed silent, but her tongue flicked momentarily out. Toshiro sighed and stood haltingly, swaying on his feet. Her reaction was immediate.

She slithered over and loomed over him, head lowering threateningly. Toshiro stood for a moment, silently debating whether or not to fight her - it was clear she was being controlled by something or someone - but his decision was made when the room spun alarmingly around him, and he was forced to his knees.

 _"Master, you must rest,"_ Hyourinmaru said, his tone urgent. _"You cannot do anything at the moment, and you need to fight off this fever."_

Toshiro hesitated for a moment, his hands flat on the stone floor for balance. When he took them away to stand again but fell over onto his shoulder, he realized the dragon was right. He was absolutely helpless.

He hated it.

"Fine," Toshiro sighed, stretching out on the cold stone and closing his eyes.

The world disappeared in a blaze of dark fire.


	18. Chapter 18

**Like I said at the beginning of this story, the events take place after the Winter War in Bleach. If you have not finished that, there are some spoilers in here. Also some spoilers for The Diamond Dust Rebellion. But if you haven't watched it, you probably won't know what the spoilers are. You have been warned.**

 **Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter and Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

The search for Toshiro was, as expected, fruitless. Hermione, Harry, and Ron split up to search the castle, each taking a couple floors. Hermione encountered several teachers who were all looking for the boy as well, but none stopped to talk. They bore a worried look and a quick pace. Although they would not say it, Hermione knew they were concerned.

The three Gryffindors met up in the common room before the fire to regroup.

"Nothing," Hermione said, frustrated. The boys both shook their heads. Hermione sighed and turned to look out the window. For a moment, she thought she saw Toshiro sitting there, but then she realized it was just her imagination. The windowsill was the boy's favored spot, and she had come to associate it with him. "Where could he be?" she wondered.

"Obviously not in the castle," Ron said, sitting heavily on the couch. Harry joined him a moment later.

Hermione nodded, thinking. "So, outside, then. But there's snow! He'd have frozen in two days!"

Ron snorted. "Kid's got an immunity to the cold. He's fine."

"You don't know that!"

She and Ron had a small staring contest, in which her angry eyes met his calm ones, but behind the thin layer hid worry. In that moment, Hermione knew Ron was just as concerned about their missing friend as the rest of them.

"Let's go look by the lake." She broke off and started towards the door. She heard the couch springs groan in relief as the two boys rose to follow her.

* * *

The lake was covered by a thin, flimsy layer of ice, under which the dark water moved sluggishly, slapping softly against the ice's underside. Harry tossed a small rock to test it, purely out of curiosity, and the ice splintered, cracks radiating out from the small hole the rock had created in the ice. Freed, the frigid water lapped onto the ice, the hole and water the only dark spots on a field of white.

"Come on!" Hermione yelled, already many meters away. She wasn't able to keep still as Ron and Harry approached, and as soon as they were within arms reach, she took off again. Ron and Harry exchanged a glance before slowly following.

They had been at this for a good half hour, and were only a quarter of the way around the lake. Hermione seemed to have limitless reserves of energy, but Harry and Ron were dragging their feet, just wanting to be inside, warm by the fire, perhaps playing a game of wizard's chess and eating sweets.

"How can we tell her we're going back without her killing us?" Ron asked, probably joking. Harry simply shrugged.

"Guys! Get over here!"

Startled, Harry and Ron broke into a run, quickly approaching where they thought Hermione's voice had come from. But, when they arrived, they were met with a wall of bushes and trees, which ran together to form an impenetrable wall.

"Come on!" Hermione said again, but her voice was much closer. "Hurry up!"

They jumped and looked down to see Hermione kneeling underneath the bushes, in a small tunnel that they hadn't noticed before, and wouldn't if she hadn't been sitting right in the middle of it. With an amused huff, she turned and disappeared, leaving them to follow.

The tunnel through the bushes was short but seemed to take hours. Every single branch and bramble caught on Harry's clothes and hair and slapped him in the face. If he hadn't had glasses, he was sure his eyes would have been poked out long before he reached the other side. He could hear Ron cursing behind him and the _thwack_ of branches smacking skin.

Once through, Harry was relieved to find that they were standing in a large clearing surrounded by the cursed bushes. Harry stood and moved off to the side to allow Ron through, looking around. It was a well hidden spot, as no one would be mad enough to actually make a tunnel through the bushes - he glared at Hermione - and had a small view of the lake. The ground was covered with snow, as the clearing had an open spot with no trees right above it.

"How did you find this?" he asked, genuinely curious. People didn't just go crawling under bushes for no reason.

Hermione was standing by a tree on the opposite side, and answered distractedly. "Oh, just tripped and stared straight through the tunnel - look at this!"

Harry and Ron moved over, Ron angrily swatting leaves off his robes. They reached the tree and saw what had caught Hermione's attention. The bark of the tree had been brutally ripped away, leaving a bare, ugly scar on the tree's trunk. The wood itself was cut inside, as if an ax had been taken and roughly chopped against the trunk.

Hermione ran a hand over the gash, looking bewildered. Harry moved to do the same, drawn, for some inexplicable reason, to touch the gash, and was suddenly overloaded with winter. He staggered back, but releasing the tree did nothing to ease his trouble. He looked around and sensed - not saw - that the clearing was dripping with something. It settled over the churned snow on the ground, gathered most thickly on the tree, from which it hung and dripped like slime. As he looked, it seemed to gather into a large creature, one that Harry instantly recognized, one that created a terrified lump in his throat.

The dragon loomed over him, mouth slightly open, but he was captured by its glowing red eyes. They stared at him, as if piercing him to his very soul, and when the dragon reared back, rising to its full height, he felt the need to cower, to bow before this magnificent creature. A weight seemed to settle over his shoulders, pressing him down to the ground. His knees buckled, and he fell to the snowy ground, still staring into the dragon's red eyes. It lowered its head then, as if deciding enough was enough, and opened its mouth further, as if to speak.

"Harry!"

Harry snapped to, scrambling to his feet in a suddenly flight of fear. He looked around for the dragon, but the clearing was normal, and its only inhabitants were himself, Ron, and Hermione. They were looking questioningly at him, and he felt himself redden.

"Sorry," he said, feeling ashamed at his terror. There was _nothing_ there. There was no dragon. "What'd you say?"

Ron smirked, and Hermione rolled her eyes. "I _said_ , what do you think happened here?"

Harry shrugged, trying to wrench his mind off the dragon. _I_ _maginary_ _dragon,_ he chided himself. "I don't know. Could've happened a while ago."

"No, the cut is to rough to be old. This happened recently."

The boys gave her odd looks, and she shrugged. "What? I went camping."

Ron shivered suddenly, drawing his cloak tighter about himself. "Let's go back to the castle. It's too cold out here to do anything else." He moved towards the tunnel, and Hermione followed. After Harry squirmed his way through the tunnel and straightened on the other side, they set off back to the castle. He glanced back, and saw a dragon with red eyes rising up above the bushes, radiating winter.

Harry shivered and hurried after his friends.

* * *

This time he woke to the feeling of warm breath on his already fever-warmed face.

Toshiro lay perfectly still, keeping his breath deep and even. He could sense Sigruna's proximity, and knew she was watching for any sign that he was awake. After several moments of nothing happening, she pulled back, and he heard her moving into one of the nearby water channels. A dull thump signaled that she had put her head down on the stone walkway, likely to go to sleep. Toshiro risked opening his eyes open just a sliver to see around him.

His suspicions were confirmed. Sigruna was lying half in, half out of the water channel with her head on the stone walkway. Her eyes were closed, and she appeared to be sleeping. But, considering what he had just been doing, Toshiro couldn't be sure she was actually asleep. Other than that, everything was normal.

Toshiro closed his eyes again and slipped into his inner world, relishing the chill of it. Even there his body ached, and he felt much too warm. He laid down in the snow, pushing his arms under the surface and letting the powder fall over him. He was looking up at the cloud-streaked blue sky when it suddenly disappeared, and he was staring into two crimson eyes.

"Hyourinmaru," he greeted. The dragon grumbled and pulled back to curl around him. Toshiro sighed in relief. The dragon's body was made entirely of ice, and the cold radiated into his body.

"We need to get you out of there," Hyourinmaru sighed. Toshiro frowned. Right to the point. He must be serious.

"I thought you wanted me to rest and get over the fever?"

"You can do that just as well in bed."

"Yeah." Toshiro paused for a moment to lean back against Hyourinmaru's wing. "Any ideas?"

Hyourinmaru's body vibrated as he grumbled again. His claws dug deep into the snow, retracted, then pushed down again. Clearly the dragon was upset about something. But what? "I have one. You won't like it."

"What is it?" Toshiro asked apprehensively. Usually, whenever Hyourinmaru said that, he would hate the idea.

"Kill the basilisk."

Toshiro waited a moment, half-hoping his zanpakuto spirit was joking, but the dragon was silent.

"No."

"Can you think of any other way to get out of your current situation?"

Toshiro thought for a moment, but drew up blank. Cursed fever. It was wrecking his concentration. "No," he said at last, reluctantly. "But I won't kill Sigruna."

Hyourinmaru sighed but let it go.

For a long time they were silent, just resting. A wind, warmer than normal, had started, and Toshiro burrowed down into the snow. Hyourinmaru lifted his head to smell the wind, rumbling unhappily. His upper lip curled to reveal dagger-like teeth, and his crimson eyes narrowed.

"What is it?"

Hyourinmaru didn't even look down. "The changes."

Toushriou was confused for a moment before remembering what the dragon had said a few days - hours, hours, minutes? - ago. "What changes?"

This time Hyourinmaru lowered his head before answering, and his tail curled protectively around his master. "Something new. I don't know what."

"Should I be worried?"

Hyourinmaru took a long time to answer. He was watching the far-off mountains, and his sharp eyes caught a quick glint of gold. "Perhaps."

* * *

"What do you mean you can't find him?!" Hermione was glaring at Professor McGonagall, who shot the girl a cold look and crossed her arms.

"I mean, Miss Granger, that Mr. Hitsugaya is not in the castle. That, or..." She trailed off, but no matter how much Hermione whined, would not complete her sentence. "If he has not been found by dinnertime tomorrow, we will call in the aurors. If he appears before then, inform me, immediately." With that, McGonagall turned on her heel and swept out of the common room. Hermione stared after her, dismayed.

"How can she just give up? He's here somewhere; we just need to find him!"

"Hermione..." Harry started, but when Hermione turned, and he saw the anguish in her eyes, he didn't have the heart to finish what he was originally going to say. "He'll turn up," he finished lamely, quickly retreating to the couch in front of the fire. She sighed, turning to look out the window.

After a few minutes of sitting in a depressed silence, Ron stood suddenly. "Why don't we go visit Hagrid? We haven't seen him in a while."

"Yeah," Hermione nodded slowly. "Sounds good..." She followed Ron to the door, then looked back at Harry, who was still sitting on the couch staring into the fire, a position he had taken when their talking had petered out. "Harry, you coming?"

He looked up, startled. "Yeah."

All three made their way out of the common room, and bumped into the twins. "Hey, have you seen Ginny?" Fred - or George - asked. They shook their heads.

"Too bad," the other twin said. "We wanted to play Exploding Snap..." They disappeared into the common room, and the trio made their way down to Hagrid's house.

* * *

Harry sat in Hagrid's cabin along with Hermione and Ron, but he couldn't concentrate or follow what they were saying. He was still thinking about the dragon he had seen, and was questioning why Hermione and Ron hadn't seen it. The encounter had clearly affected him more than he thought, he realized, taking a small sip of his hot chocolate that Hagrid had thrust into his hands, saying he needed to warm up.

What was that stuff all around the clearing? It was there, but wasn't there, and Harry couldn't feel it, smell it, or touch it, but he could see it and _sense_ it. It was an odd feeling, one that he wasn't accustomed to. He had been thinking about it ever since the clearing, but after peoples' reactions to the fact that he was a Parselmouth, he was hesitant to share this. It seemed there was just another thing that set him apart from the others. Wonderful.

"Spiders?" Ron said, and the strangely high pitch of his voice made Harry look up from the sinking bits of marshmallow in his hot chocolate. "W-What do spiders have to do with anything?"

Hagrid grinned, tapping the rim of his own over-sided mug. His was full of ale, however, not hot chocolate. "Spiders are seriously misunderstood creatures, they are. People jus' don' understand 'em."

"Right," Ron said, clearly unconvinced. Harry had to wonder at his sudden paleness. "Anyway, what's so special about not seeing them in the castle?"

"They live there," Hagrid said, in such an innocent, honest voice that the trio couldn't help but snort with suppressed laughter. "But for some reason, they've been leavin' the castle. Right scared of somethin' there, I s'pose. Tried followin' em' into the forest, bu'they didn' want me there."

"Didn't want you there," Hermione echoed. "What do you mean?"

Hagrid glanced around, as if expecting someone to suddenly appear and shout 'Boo!'. "Got a friend in there, I 'ave. Aragog's 'is name. Used ta be friendly toward me; I raised 'im, aft' all."

"Raised him?"

"Yeah," Hagrid nodded enthusiastically. "Kept 'im in the castle till the school found out. Still don' know 'ow they did tha'." His face fell, and he looked down into his tankard of ale. "Yeah...good ol' days..."

The mood in the cabin became very depressing then, and the trio exchanged an uncomfortable glance.

* * *

Toshiro stayed in his inner world for only a few more minutes before a familiar - and unwelcome - presence came close to his body, and he had to leave. Opening his eyes again, he found that Ginny was crouched next to him, dark eyes watching him intently.

"You're awake," she said, and he knew that it was this 'Tom Riddle' controlling her. He sighed and sat up, pleased when the room swam only slightly around him.

"What do you want?"

Tom leaned forward, spinning a wand in his fingers - Ginny's wand. "I want to ask you a few questions."

 _Of course he does,_ Toshiro thought, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. "I will not tell you anything."

"Really? Then I suppose you don't want to explain these?" He twisted, grabbing something behind him, and setting it on the floor before Toshiro, who stared at the two objects, stunned.

There, sitting innocently on the cold stone floor, was his soul phone and his soul candy.

Toshiro lifted his eyes to meet Tom's, anger in every line of his body. "How did you get these?" he hissed. Tom grinned.

"You've been practicing magic for what - a year and a half? You haven't even been taught proper defensive spells. It took little effort to break through. I'll admit, I am a bit curious about what this is." He lifted the soul candy dispenser, studying it. Toshiro desperately wanted to snatch it out of his hands, but refrained from such a compulsory action. It would do no good to show fear.

"It is none of your business," Toshiro said, eyes straying to his boot, where his wand was hidden. He knew that he was outclassed in terms of magical proficiency, but he could at least buy time to get his soul phone and candy back. Then the fun would begin.

"No, it isn't," Tom said absently. "But that's never stopped me before."

He appeared to tire of the soul candy dispenser, as he set it down. Toshiro followed his movements with relief, but was puzzled when Tom sat fully down on the stone floor. He motioned for Toshiro, who had risen to a tense crouch, to do the same. Sensing no dangerous fluctuations in Tom's reiatsu, Toshiro complied.

"All I want is to figure out what you are," Tom said, tone as smooth as if he were simply discussing the weather. "I have no desire to drag this out, as I do not like this body. It is limiting and heavy."

Toshiro could sympathize. He assumed Tom was using Ginny like a gigai, and gigai were extremely uncomfortable until you got used to it, and that could take days.

"What I am going to do is very simple," Tom continued. "I know very well that you are not going to willingly give me truthful answers, so I will drag them from you." Toshiro frowned, not liking or knowing what he was intending when Tom raised Ginny's wand and looked him straight in the eyes. " _Legilimens_!"

Toshiro, having never heard of this spell, was unprepared for the assault on his mind. He stiffened, seeing flashes of his memories, and too surprised to come up with a way to stop them. The flood of memories washed over him, and he could do naught but watch.

He saw his time in Rukongai while he still lived with his Granny and Momo; he saw Kusaka and their fight under Central 46's command; he saw his graduation from the Academy; he saw his old Captain and Rangiku; he saw his Captain initiation; he saw the first time a subordinate died under his command, and relived the pain it caused him; he saw his second fight with Kusaka; he saw Aizen's body and the streaks of blood underneath; he saw Aizen and Gin and Kaname being lifted into the Garganta; he saw himself fighting to regain Hyourinmaru's memories; he saw himself fighting Harribel; he saw his sword through Momo's chest.

Anger, pushed deep down to where he had hoped to forget it, surged at that particular memory. With a loud roar, Hyourinmaru burst forth and wrapped around Toshiro's mind, an impenetrable wall of furious ice, the dragon lunged through Tom's and Toshiro's mental link to attack the intruder. Tom recoiled with surprise and pain, but Hyourinmaru, fueled by wrath, set himself to tearing apart Tom's mind. He had only managed to start his assault when the man cut off his and Toshiro's link, and Hyourinmaru returned to his place.

Toshiro gasped and sucked in air and fell forwards to catch himself with both hands, his whole body shaking. Never before had his _mind_ come under such an attack; never before had he _relived_ his memories. Still trembling, he lifted his head to look over at Tom, who was lying on his side and curled into a tight ball, eyes wide open but staring into space. He didn't seem to be much of a threat at the moment, so Toshiro put his head down, retreating into his inner world.

The icy wasteland was in turmoil. A wind, biting and relentless, tore across the ridges of snowbanks and lifted the snow into clumps that pelted Toshiro's body. The sky was dark with ominous clouds. Soon, though, Hyourinmaru curled around his master to shelter him from the elements and to comfort him. Toshiro huddled close to him, reeling.

"I saw everything," he whispered, and Hyourinmaru lowered his head to hear. "Everything. Kusaka...Momo...everything."

Hyourinmaru rumbled but didn't speak.

Toshiro curled his arms around his knees and put his head into the snow. "I saw and relived it. I killed Kusaka...I stabbed Momo...I saw and felt my subordinate's blood on my hands...Everything..."

Hyourinmaru put his wing around Toshiro and pulled him close.


	19. Chapter 19

"Speaking in English", **"Speaking in Japanese"** , _"_ _Speaking to/from zanpakuto"_ , _Thinking_

 **I will not bold Japanese if they are in a place where they mainly speak Japanese. Same goes for English.**

 **Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter and Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

The wind raged. Clumps of snow hurtled through the air. The clouds hung low, dark and rumbling.

Toshiro was still lying next to Hyourinmaru under the dragon's protective wing when he spoke. "Master, I sense that Riddle will not stay incapacitated for much longer. I succeeded in tearing apart a portion of his mind, but you should not take the risk of him recovering. You need to go back and take care of him."

Toshiro heard him, knew he was right, but he was still reeling over what he had just relived. Kusaka...Momo...his subordinates...He couldn't seem to tear his thoughts away from them.

Hyourinmaru sighed and lowered his head right next to Toshiro's. " _Captain_ Hitsugaya!" he roared, and said Captain jumped, springing to an instinctive defensive posture. "You cannot stay here and sulk! You are a _Captain_ , and you are on a mission! You cannot allow your memories to overwhelm you! They are just that - memories! You have lived them once, and if necessary, you will live them again. Now go out there and DO YOUR DUTY!"

Toshiro stared at his dragon, shame flooding through him. Hyourinmaru was right. He was sulking because he was remembering memories. What kind of Captain was he?

Bowing his head, Toshiro left his inner world and opened his eyes to find Tom still curled in a ball. No doubt Hyourinmaru's rampage through his mind had left him incapacitated. Toshiro scowled at him and looked over at his soul candy dispenser. Pity he couldn't just stab him be over with it. But he couldn't hurt Ginny - he would have to come up with a cover story for the Weasleys, Dumbledore, the Wizarding World, and he just didn't want to deal with the bother.

Toshiro stared down at Tom, thinking of ways to eject him from Ginny's body. He was coming up short, as most of his ways involved swords, blood, and mutilation.

Oh, how he wished he could fight a Hollow right now. It wouldn't stand a chance.

Letting out a long sigh, he picked up his soul phone and selected a number. He held the device up to his ear and waited, the ringing seeming to go on forever and ever.

A beep. **"This is Captain Unohana. How may I help you, Captain Hitsugaya?"**

Toshiro gritted his teeth. His fever had come back full force, and he was not in the mood for questions. He responded in rapid Japanese. **"There is a...situation here. I'm coming back with a human. She will require a purification of the soul, and likely a rejection as well."**

 **"Really?"** Unohana's voice was curious. **"What exactly is going on down there?"**

Toshiro hesitated. **"I would rather say this in person. It is rather...delicate. Also, I would prefer that my presence back in the Soul Society remains between only the necessary people."**

Unohana took a moment to answer, and he feared she would question why. **"Very well. Come through Squad 4's private Senkaimon."**

 **"Thank you, Captain Unohana."** He ended the call and studied Tom still lying curled on the ground. This was going to be difficult.

He soon swallowed a soul candy and split from his gigai, giving it strict instructions to pretend like it was still asleep. He didn't need it to go and anger Sigruna, who was liable to eat him if she was still under Riddle's control. He also didn't want it coming with him to the Soul Society - he would have to exit it, and there was always a chance that someone would find it. Then, after spelling Ginny's body to levitate behind him - thankfully he was still able to use his wand in spirit form - and retrieving both their bags, he opened a Senkaimon. Once a hell butterfly appeared, he headed in.

* * *

The rest of their visit with Hagrid passed quickly, and soon it was time for lunch. Although they knew by now that he wouldn't appear, they still looked around for a head of white hair - excluding, of course, Dumbledore - and cold turquoise eyes. They found none.

The students were due to come back to Hogwarts in a two days, and once classes started up again, it would be very, very difficult to explain Toshiro's absence. None of them were looking forward to it.

Of the entire student body, only a few had remained at Hogwarts over winter break. Of the Slytherins, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had remained, of course, as had the large, ugly girl Hermione had accidentally stolen cat hairs from, and a small, rather meek girl. It was odd that she had gone to Slytherin, but she was so silent that most had forgotten that she was even there. She was sitting away from the rest of the Slytherins, eating a sandwich and staring down at her plate.

The Hufflepuff table had only one poor girl, and the Ravenclaws had two boys. The Gryffindor table currently had only one more member than the Slytherins - and most of those were Weasleys.

Percy was sitting at the end by the head table, absently chewing on a carrot while he read, the twins were sitting just a few places down, and Ron was with Hermione and Harry. Ginny was still missing.

Sharp footsteps alerted all the Gryffindors to Professor McGonagall's arrival as she stopped between the trio and the twins. She shook her head slightly and headed up to the head table to talk to Dumbledore, who was the only adult there. The rest were searching the castle. The Gryffindors looked sullenly down at their plates, losing their appetites suddenly.

Even though they spoke quietly, with the Hall so empty, the students could hear the two Professors' conversation.

"Perhaps we should call in the Aurors tonight," McGonagall was whispering, voice strained. "They will conduct the search much more efficiently and quickly."

Dumbledore was shaking his head before she even finished. "No. Wait until the designated time. I would rather not have the Aurors here at all, but especially when the children come back."

"Don't you think it's about time you let go your grudge against the Ministry!" McGonagall's voice rose, higher than she probably intended, and all heads turned immediately towards the two. Seeing this, Dumbledore waved his hand, and both were immediately silent, even though they continued to talk.

The twins sidled up next to the trio. "That was interesting," George - or Fred - said. Hermione sighed.

"I wish we could just find them quickly."

"Don't we all," the other twin said. "Can any of you read lips?" They shook their heads. "Shame. I would learn the skill myself, but my time is better spent drafting bigger and better ways to get the teachers barking mad."

To everyone's surprise, the first twin started to pull the other away. "Not the time," he said quietly. The second twin nodded sadly.

"I know, but what is comedy for but to lift peoples' spirits?"

* * *

The trip through the Precipice World was a blur of gray and black. Toshiro could feel his fever rising again. It appeared things were worse in his soul form. He had little time to ponder why when he reached the other side and stepped through the exit. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the sudden explosion of light before a familiar presence was in front of him and a soft voice spoke.

"Captain Hitsugaya, please follow me."

Blinking, Toshiro followed Captain Unohana as she led him towards the Squad 4 barracks. They were in a deserted wing, and he wondered at this before they stepped into a room and he saw Yamada Hanataro, who gaped at the body floating behind him. Toshiro eyed the healer warily as he set Ginny's body down on the table. Why was this one always around? He didn't seem particularly skilled or specialized.

"What exactly is wrong with her?" Unohana asked while taking Ginny's pulse.

Where to begin?

"At the moment, it isn't quite _her_ ," Toshiro said, knowing exactly how that sounded even as Unohana raised her eyebrow. Time to start at the beginning then. He told the story as clearly as he could, wishing all the while that he had a cup of water. It was very hot in here, and his throat was very dry. Was the heater broken?

When he finished, Unohana and Yamada staring at him with differing levels of disbelief. Toshiro sighed, wanting nothing more than to lie down and go to sleep. "That's it," he said, unable to keep the frustrated tone out of his voice. "Do you see now why I didn't want people to know that I'm here?"

They nodded, and Unohana turned back to Ginny. "Get the equipment," she told Yamada softly, who nodded and quickly left. She then looked back at Toshiro. He was blinking to get the tiredness from his eyes, and she frowned. "Are you feeling all right?"

He nodded curtly. She looked like she didn't quite believe him, but let it be.

"Would you mind relaying questions between myself and your zanpakuto?"

Again he nodded, though he wondered why she needed to talk to Hyourinmaru. In his inner world, the ice dragon stirred and raised his head.

"Good. Could you ask him what exactly he did to her mind?"

Toshiro let Hyourinmaru think, since he knew the dragon could hear her question. _"I did nothing to_ her _mind. I tore apart a portion of the invader's mind in an attempt to get him to relinquish his hold on my Master."_

Toshiro repeated this, and Unohana looked up sharply. "His hold on you?"

He nodded uncomfortably. "He used a spell that I don't know that allowed him to see my memories before Hyourinmaru attacked him." He hesitated, debating whether or not to add more. Unohana waited, seeing his indecision. "I also relived most of my memories," he admitted at last. "It...was not pleasant."

Yamada came back in then with a cart full of medical equipment that he could not begin to name, so he moved into the corner and out of the way while the healers worked. Unohana placed sticky pads onto Ginny's chest, and her heartbeat appeared on a screen accompanied by an annoying beep keeping time with her heart. She then put something over Ginny's finger, and a small section below the heartbeat sprang to life. Toshiro watched in fascination as equipment was put on and monitors jumped into action. Soon Ginny was lying on the table surrounded by wires and tubes, and an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. She looked much too similar to Momo when she'd been in the hospital.

Toshiro turned away, feeling decidedly uneasy and intending to leave, when the world suddenly spun around him and he fell against the door frame, the wood the only thing keeping him semi-vertical. His left arm burned with a sharp pain, and Yamada cried out a warning. One of them must have noticed his grip loosening on the door frame, as hands caught him before he hit the ground and faded into painful darkness.

* * *

When she woke, she immediately noticed that her mind was free.

Sigruna lifted her head, looking around. She was lying half in-half out of one of the ditches full of cold water. She was alone in the room, except for the body lying on the ground not far away. With a start, she recognized the boy, and her memories of the previous couple days came flooding back to her.

She slithered over to him, almost reeling with guilt. "Hitsugaya," she hissed, and when he didn't respond, she repeated his name, louder. Again he didn't stir, and a flutter of worry worked its way through her belly, doing battle with the guilt. "Hitsugaya."

Sigruna lowered her head to examine him more closely, and noticed that though his chest was slowly rising and falling. He was alive, thankfully. But why wasn't he waking?

Again she called his name, and again he didn't respond. Her voice was rising, panic replacing worry, and she nudged him. His body was limp against her nose, and his skin was cold as ice.

"Hitsugaya!"

Sigruna started pacing around him, mind racing. What happened? Did she do something? She didn't think so. But what could she do? Did he need something to wake him up? Her eyes fixed on the water-filled ditches. Water. Water was always good.

Sliding over and dipping her head, she filled her mouth with a large gulp of water. Then, turning and going over to Hitsugaya, she opened her mouth and dumped it on him.

He was instantly soaked - his white hair plastered to his head, and his clothes stuck to his small body - but he didn't move. Deciding that it wasn't enough, she tried again. And again. And again. She eventually stopped, fearing that he might drown, but when she checked, he was still breathing. She started pacing again.

Water was no good. Now what could she do? She had to wake him up - she had to apologize and make sure he forgave her. He couldn't hate her. He just couldn't. She wouldn't be able to handle rejection again.

The small boy was still not moving, his chest still slowly rising and falling. What could she do? Wasn't magic supposed to help its wizard?

Her head popped up. Wizard. He was a wizard. She was in a school of wizards. They could help him. They had to help him.

Satisfied with her plan, Sigruna gently picked him up in her mouth - very careful not to puncture his skin with her fangs. She had poison in them, she knew, and if it got into his system, he would die.

That wouldn't happen. He would not die. That _would not happen._

Luckily, the annoying ghost-girl was not in the dank room when she came through. Sigruna remembered her from many moons ago - Hitsugaya had mentioned fifty years, but had she really been asleep that long?

Sigurna nosed the door to the dank room open, making sure not to bump Hitsugaya's head into anything. Then she looked up and down the tunnel. There was no one there. Well, that was no good. She needed the magical humans to fix him. With that in mind, she set off down one side of the tunnel.

As she passed, the magical people on the walls saw her and shrieked, diving away out of sight. She bore them no mind - it wasn't as if something so small could harm her. There were torches burning on holders on the walls; she glared at them, having to narrow her eyes against the cursed light. They were nothing light the soothing moss of her home. Eventually, after sliding down two staircases and many tunnels, she heard footsteps. Fear born from a primal place told her to not let them see her, and so she placed him down in the middle of the tunnel and turned, fleeing back around a bend. Once out of sight, she paused to listen. The footsteps came closer and closer, then stopped where she had placed Hitsugaya. A moment later she heard a voice - she could not understand the language in which it spoke - and it seemed filled with worry. Satisfied that her friend had been found, Sigruna continued making her way back to the dank place from where she could go back home.

He would be fine. His kind would fix him. And when he was fixed, he would come back and talk with her. They would talk and laugh and he would create sculptures of ice, and it would be like it was before.

Everything would be fine. It had to be.

* * *

The light was fading from the outside world and the fire was crackling when the portrait door swung open. All the occupants of the Tower looked over curiously - everyone was there in the Tower, as far as they knew. When Professor McGonagall stepped in though, they froze and stared at her. She only came to the common room if something serious had happened. Harry had a feeling something _had_ happened.

McGonagall stood there for a moment and surveyed the room. "Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Potter. Come here, please."

They needed no encouragement. Harry stood alongside his friends before the teacher. "What is it?" Hermione asked, clearly expecting the worst. "Did you find him?"

The side of McGonagall's mouth twitched - what had she found funny? But then Harry was reassured. If the Professor was in a good enough mood to laugh, then nothing too bad could have happened. "Yes, we did," she replied, and the amusement was instantly gone. "Come with me, and I will take you to him." She turned, and Harry exchanged glances with his friends. That didn't sound good.

The castle was cold, and Harry shivered immediately after leaving the common room and the large fire that always burned. He wished he had brought his cloak, but feared that the others wouldn't wait if he went back to get it. So he followed as they traveled in silence, the only sounds the murmuring of the painted portraits and the tapping of their shoes.

McGonagall led them to a part of the castle Harry was very familiar with - the hospital wing. With a grave expression, she pushed open the door and walked in, the trio following.

None of the students staying at Hogwarts over the break had been injured, so there was only one bed that was occupied other than the Petrification victims. The curtains were drawn around it, however, so he couldn't see who was lying on it, but he already knew. The same stuff that covered the clearing surrounded the bed. It was thin, but clung to the curtains and hovered in the air, a thin mist of winter.

Headmaster Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey, and Professor Snape were standing around the bed, conversing in hushed tones. They looked up when Professor McGonagall, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived, and fell silent. Likely they didn't want their conversation overheard by children who were liable to spread it within minutes.

Dumbledore was the first to speak. "When was the last time you last saw Mr. Hitsugaya?" His blue eyes lacked their usual twinkle, and that worried Harry more than anything else.

Hermione gathered her courage to speak. "A few days ago, sir. Is he here? Did you find him?"

"We did. Professor Snape came across him in a first floor hallway."

A quick glance at Snape showed him nodding.

"I-Is he all right?" Hermione sounded nervous.

It took the teachers considerably longer to answer. "He...why don't you see for yourself." Madam Pomfrey pulled back the curtains around the bed, and all three students leaned forward to see Toshiro Hitsugaya lying on the bed, stiller than they had ever seen him. His eyes were closed, and he looked like he was asleep. They looked to Dumbledore, but it was Snape who spoke.

"When I found him, he was soaking wet," the teacher said.

"Wet?"

"Yes, Potter," Snape snapped, irritation lacing his voice. "That is what I said. If you-"

"Severus." Snape stopped suddenly at Dumbledore's warning. "Now is not the time to be arguing. Now, children, how was Mr. Hitsugaya when you last saw him?"

They frowned. Harry thought back to when he last saw him, and realized that it had been some time ago. "Fine," Harry answered. "Well, I think he was sick, but other than that he was normal."

"Sick?" Madam Pomfrey jumped in. "What type of illness?"

Harry shrugged, uncomfortable with everyone staring at him. "I dunno. I think he said something about a fever, but I don't really remember."

There was a short pause, then Madam Pomfrey went over to the parchment lying on the table next to the bed. She scanned it over then shook her head. "This does not say that he has a fever. Perhaps the water cooled him down enough that his body temperature returned to normal?"

"He must have been in the water for a significant amount of time," McGonagall murmured, speaking for the first time since entering. She pushed Toshiro's bangs away from his eyes, acting almost motherly. It was weird to see her acting that way. The adult went strangely quiet, as if considering the implications of this statement. Harry looked back at Toshiro.

The Japanese boy was small, he realized. This fact hadn't really registered before now, but the kid really was small. Harry got a strange urge to measure his height when he once again saw the _stuff_ around him. It settled around Toshiro, seeming to come from _inside_ him, but that didn't make sense. Then again, Harry had no clue what the stuff was, and it could be natural. He opened his mouth to point out the stuff to the teachers when he felt something stir inside him.

It was fast, but so odd that there was no way he could miss it. It was as if something inside of him was reacting to the stuff around Toshiro, drawing him towards the boy. It sent bolts of electricity through him, charging his senses and making him want to go fly far and fast, racing over the tops of mountains and brushing the swaying tips of trees. He would soar faster than the animals, faster than the birds, faster than the _wind_! He would be the fastest creature alive, and none could-

He stopped, pulled abruptly from his thoughts. What was that? Did someone call his name? Looking around, he saw everyone once again staring at him. "-don't think that will be strong enough," Snape was saying, clearly nothing nice. "He would require strong help, and I do not have the time to brew anything that could even remotely help him-"

"You're not going to help Toshiro?" Harry asked, startled. Snape sneered.

"I will do what I can to help him recover from whatever this is. He is competent in the classroom, and I would be remiss to let him die without giving my aide. No, I was speaking of yourself just now. Your attention span is atrocious."

"That's quite enough," Dumbledore said quickly, forestalling the inevitable argument. "Children, why don't you go back to bed? I'm sure things will be much clearer in the morning."

They nodded and started to walk away, but Ron didn't budge. "Sir, what about my sister? Did you find her?"

"No, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said, eyes darkening. "We did not. Perhaps Mr. Hitsugaya has the answers that we seek; we will ask him the necessary questions when he wakes. Now run along. I believe the rest of your house would like to learn that one of its members has returned."

Ron scowled but obeyed and left. As he walked towards the doors, McGonagall could be heard saying: "When do you believe he will wake?"

Madam Pomfrey answered. "I don't know. The medical scans show that nothing is physically wrong with him. It could be a head injury, and in that case, it could be some time before he wakes."

Or at all.

* * *

The world was uncomfortably warm around him.

Toshiro lay still for a few minutes, contemplating how to fix this. Eventually he decided to throw the sheets off of him, as they seemed to be what was causing most of it. As he moved to do so however, hands on his shoulders prevented him from rising.

"Please lie still, sir."

He recognized that voice. With a frown, he opened his eyes to find the meek healer leaning over him, looking exceptionally nervous. Toshiro toyed with the idea of snapping back, but decided against it, for he had just noticed that he was feeling normal. Better, actually, than he had for a long time.

His confusion must have shown up on his face, for Yamada backed away. "I'll go get Captain Unohana. Just please stay in bed, sir." He disappeared out the door, and Toshiro sat up and looked around.

He was in a private room of what had to be Squad 4. The walls and floor were too white and it smelled too strongly of disinfectant to be anything but a hospital. A small window above his bed had a view of a beautiful garden, and though it was dimly lit out, no one was there. Toshiro frowned and studied the sky and light more carefully. The sky was a steel-wool gray, a sight that he knew meant the sky was covered with a layer of clouds. The color of the clouds also indicated that it was early morning, likely just before sunrise. Toshiro tore his gaze from the window and looked around the room again, wondering how he got there. The last thing he remembered was bringing Ginny to Unohana, but he was wearing the white hospital robes. That meant he was a patient. But that couldn't be right. He wasn't sick. Then it clicked. He _wasn't_ sick. That's why he was feeling so much better than he had for the past few days.

Toshiro had just swung his legs over the side of the bed when the door opened and Captain Unohana walked in with Yamada right behind her. He froze, and was sure he had a perfect deer in the headlights look.

Captain Unohana gave him a disapproving look. "You shouldn't be getting up."

Toshiro shrugged uneasily. There was a reason he hated being in Squad 4 and avoided it at all costs. "I feel fine."

"Yes, because we drained the poison from your blood."

"Huh?"

 _"Eloquent,"_ Hyourinmaru snickered. Toshiro ignored him.

Unohana walked over and took his left arm, pushing up the sleeve. Toshiro looked down at the faint scratch marks on his upper arm and shrugged.

"Oh, yeah, I got those from a Hollow a few weeks ago. Nothing too bad."

Unohana let his arm go and fixed him with her most intimidating glare. Toshiro felt himself shrinking. Yes, there was most _definitely_ a reason why he avoided Squad 4. "Well, _Captain_ Hitsugaya, perhaps you should question why you get sick right after fighting a Hollow. Perhaps you should wonder if that particular Hollow had venom and infected you. _Perhaps_ you should contact me after this to _make sure_ that it is 'nothing too bad'."

Toshiro became suddenly very interested in the edge of his hospital robe. He knew a lecture was coming from Hyourinmaru - he didn't need one from Unohana as well.

 _"Between the two of us, maybe we can get our point across,"_ the dragon said, suddenly very serious. _"And you are correct. We will be having a_ long _discussion about your behavior once things stabilize."_

Toshiro winced, and Unohana must have misinterpreted it as a gesture of pain, as she paused her speech. "Are you in pain?"

"No," Toushriou sighed. He knew from experience that it would do no good to lie to the healer. "My zanpakuto just promised to give me a lecture."

Unohana grinned her infamous grin - the one that had made even Kenpachi quail. "Good. Perhaps the two of us can get you to understand our point."

Toshiro stared at her; she had come startlingly close to what Hyourinmaru had said, and apparently the dragon thought so too, as he snorted and said a very interesting word that Toshiro would never dare repeat.

 _"Woman's psychic,"_ the dragon added. Toshiro couldn't agree more.

Unohana eyed him for a moment, then scowled. "I would order you to rest for at least another few hours, but I know it wouldn't do you any good, and you are technically supposed to be on a mission. Your clothes are there-" She pointed at a pile of clothes folded neatly on a chair in the corner. Toshiro was glad to see his zanpakuto leaning against the wall. "Change and meet me outside. I need to discuss our _guest_ with you."

Toshiro waited until she and Yamada had left before pulling off the hospital robe and putting back on his uniform. He felt relieved when the weight of his sword settled across his back.

Unohana was waiting just outside his door, and started walking immediately after he appeared. "How long was I out?" Toshiro asked, cursing his short legs.

"Just the night. The poison was designed to slowly build up in your system and kill you by affecting your brain function and reiatsu control. Have you felt off for the past few weeks?"

Toshiro hesitated. "Well, I had the fever-"

"You never actually did. The venom tricked your mind into _thinking_ you had a fever." She stopped outside a door and faced him. Yamada trailed quietly behind. "I meant, have you been emotionally off?"

"Sort of..."

 _"Yes,"_ Hyourinmaru snorted. Toshiro once again ignored him. Unohana nodded.

"That's to be expected. We've come across this type of poison before, so you're lucky we knew how to treat it without getting the Twelfth involved." Toshiro agreed wholeheartedly. Unohana's expression darkened. "Now, I didn't get the chance to ask you some questions before you collapsed. Tell me, did this 'Riddle' control even the girl's reiatsu, or just her mind?"

"Mind," Toshiro answered. He shifted, rolling his ankle to get his wand to settle more comfortably in his tabi. "I could feel her reiatsu under his, but his was dominant. He was keeping her suppressed while he controlled her body. How is she?"

"Come in." Unohana pushed open the door, and they entered. Like the previous night, Ginny was lying on the table, wires and tubes snaking all around her body, feeding solutions into her veins, and various body functions were being monitored. Her reiatsu was extremely low, but he supposed that was to be expected. "She is weak," Unohana said. "We performed a soul purification, but were not able to do a rejection, though I would prefer to. The most we could do was to put a seal on her mind to prevent Riddle from taking over again. When she wakes, she will be herself again."

"A seal? What do you mean?"

"We studied the diary that you mentioned, but could not figure out a way to get Riddle back into it. After all, we are not familiar with magic, and our only source of information in that front was unavailable." Toshiro studied the floor. "In order for her to regain control and for her reiatsu to naturally replenish, the only option was to put a seal over her that forced Riddle to back down."

Toshiro ran this over. "He said that he used her reiatsu to control her. What if her reiatsu disappeared? Would he go back to the diary?"

Unohana looked at him closely. "She is a witch. I presume that if her reiatsu disappeared, she would lose her ability to wield magic. That would be quite difficult to explain."

Yeah...it would. But still...Toshiro frowned, feeling like he had an idea, but the more he tried to grasp it, the more it slipped away. He released an irritated groan, and both healers looked curiously over at him. "So I guess we've just got to keep the seal on for the rest of her life, then?"

"Until we understand more about what it is we're up against, yes. Take her back to the world of the living and let her rest there. The seal should last for some time, so we can research what to do. Now, I have other patients that I must attend to, and if I am away for too long, they will start to wonder. The venom is out of your system now, but I suggest you rest for a few days. Yamada, please get the patient ready for transport. Captain Hitsugaya, I trust you will be able to take her back to the word of the living on your own?"

"Yes, I will."

"Very well." She turned and went to the door, pushing it open before pausing in the doorway. "Oh, and Captain Hitsugaya, don't tell her about the seal. If she breaks it before it wears out on its own, there will be problems. Good luck on your mission." With that, she disappeared. Yamada glanced nervously at Toshiro before removing the wires and tubes from Ginny. Toshiro stood in the corner while the healer worked, and when she was ready, he levitated her from the bed. Yamada watched in fascination, and Toshiro had the sudden thought that Yachiru would have great fun with magic.

He shuddered at the idea and tried _very_ hard not to think of the destruction.

The walk through the precipice world was much better this time, as he didn't have to worry about falling over from a fever and getting caught in the restrictive currents and dying. Again.

When he came out of the Senkaimon into the Chamber, he was expecting to find his gigai waiting for him and for Sigruna to hopefully be elsewhere. He did _not_ expect to be assaulted by a mound of scales, flesh, and muscle and to be suddenly surrounded by a large body. It took him a moment to figure out what was going on, but he was helped by the hissing above his head.

Sigruna was blabbering on about something; he caught a few words here and there, but she was speaking so fast that it was impossible for him to understand her. Finally, when she stopped to take a break he held up a hand. The Senkaimon had faded long ago, and he had lowered Ginny to the ground. It was slightly disturbing to know that she held another soul inside her, but she didn't need to know that.

"Sigruna!" he shouted, and she stared at him with her mouth hanging open. She had a few feathers stuck in between two of her teeth, and it flapped slightly as she breathed. "Slow down. I gather you aren't under Riddle's control anymore?"

Her eyes - which were thankfully back to amber - darkened. "I am free," she said, making sure to enunciate each word properly. The result was that she spoke annoyingly slow. "Did your kind fix you?"

"Yes," Toshiro said, though he wondered how she had known he was sick. He was going to ask, but Ginny's quiet groan reminded him of more pressing matters. "Look, I'll come down soon, but I need to get her to our healers. So, could you let me go?"

Sigruna reluctantly unwrapped herself from around him and followed him out of the Chamber. He stopped before heading up and turned a questioning eye on her. "What did you do with my gigai?"

"Gi-dai?"

"Gi-gai. Fake body. I left it here."

"You have a fake body? Do you shed it like I do?" She seemed utterly confused. Toshiro sighed. This was apparently going to take some explaining.

Ten minutes later, after much explaining, questions, reexplaining, more questions, and yet _more_ explaining, Sigruna seemed to understand what a gigai was.

"I took you to your people to get fixed," she said. Toshiro puzzled this over before he came to the conclusion that she'd taken him to the hospital wing.

"Great. This just isn't my day."

* * *

It was the day before the rest of the students were supposed to come back to Hogwarts, and the trio didn't feel much like eating. They stayed in bed as long as they could before heading down to the common room. The twins were sitting at the table making something - Harry didn't even want to know - and Percy was no where to be found. Then again, he hardly ever stayed in the Tower.

Harry was the last one down, and found Hermione sitting on the couch reading a thick book and Ron staring at a long parchment, quill in hand. Harry looked over at the title and saw that it was their Potions essay - the three-foot one that was due the first day back. "Hey," Harry said sullenly, dropping heavily down onto the couch. The twins ignored him, as engrossed in their work as they were, and Ron responded by throwing down his quill.

"I can't work when my sister's missing!" he exclaimed, pushing back his chair to stand and pace. Hermione looked up from her book, following him as he walked around the room.

"You heard the Professors," she said, and though she was clearly trying to be optimistic, there was a defeated tone to her voice that Harry hadn't heard before. "They're calling in the Aurors today."

"Fat lot of good they'll do," Ron snorted. "The teachers know the school better than they do. What do they expect, them to waltz in and spot her right away? She could be anywhere! She might not even be in the castle or-"

"That's enough, Ron," Fred - or George - said, not even looking up from the tale. "The Aurors _will_ find her. And she'll be all right. Just work on your essay."

Ron glared at his brother before surprisingly dropping down into his chair and picking back up his quill. Harry sighed, staring into the dull embers in the fireplace.

When they finally worked up the courage to go down to breakfast, they were surprised by the lack of teachers. Even Dumbledore was gone. With curious glances up at the head table every once in a while, they ate their food then headed down to the hospital wing to see if Toshiro had woken up. They didn't expect to see Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall there again. The teachers and Madam Pomfrey were gathered around two beds. Madam Pomfrey was leaning over one, blocking their view of the occupant, but they could see Toshiro sitting up in his bed, scowling at Dumbledore.

"Hitsugaya!" Hermione's sudden squeal made them all jump. Toshiro looked over just as Hermione leaped, tackling him down to the bed. He grunted and pried her arms from around his neck.

"I do not appreciate your attempt to strangle me," he said, turquoise eyes cold.

"Ah, lighten up," Ron said as he and Harry stood by the bed. The teachers drew back to give them room.

As Ron continued to pester Toshiro, Harry studied him. He looked better than he had in a while - his eyes looked clear, and though he was very pale, that was normal for him. Something inside Harry jerked, and he could suddenly see the s _tuff_ around Toshiro again. It clustered in thick bands around his wrists and eyes, making them almost glow silver.

"Are you quite done staring?" Toshiro asked dryly, looking right at Harry. He flushed, realizing he'd been staring at Toushriou for the past few minutes.

"Sorry. It's just - you look fine." Toshiro raised an eyebrow, and Harry hurried to explain. "I-I mean, you don't look sick."

Toshiro studied him for a moment, eyes narrowed. "I am not sick," he said carefully.

"We'll come back later and continue our questions," Dumbledore said suddenly, giving a pointed look to McGonagall and Snape. "I am glad that you are feeling well."

Toshiro simply nodded to the Headmaster. Harry looked over at the other bed and saw Ginny lying on it. She was asleep, but from what Madam Pomfrey was saying in an attempt to soothe Ron, she was going to be fine.

 _Harry._

He jumped, looking back over at Hermione and Toshiro. "Did one of you say my name?" he asked. They shook their heads and went back to their conversation, but as they talked, Toshiro kept sending narrowed looks over at Harry, as if studying a bug under a microscope.

Did he see something? Did he know what that stuff around him was? Harry desperately wanted to ask these and more, but he couldn't imagine starting that conversation. You don't just go up to someone and ask, "Hey, do you know that you're dripping with stuff that no one else can see?" No, Harry would wait. If nothing else, the stuff would probably go away if he just ignored it. He moved over to Ron, who was rubbing Ginny's limp hand.

 _Harry._


	20. Chapter 20

**Remember when I said there was a _Hobbit_ reference back in Chapter 15? The answer: _They glistened in its mouth like rows of white horses upon a red hill._ This is from one of Bilbo's riddles to Golum.**

 **Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter and Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

The snow had stopped falling and the clouds had blown away, leaving the sky a clear blue. A lone bird soared far over Hogwarts' towers, wheeling around and around, a faint speck of black far above.

Toshiro watched the bird from his place by the window, longing to merge with Hyourinmaru and spread his own wings, to fly and fly and let the wind take him to places unknown. Anywhere but here.

He rolled his eyes as Ron and Seamus got into another argument. The red-head had been very touchy lately since his sister had been in the infirmary and hadn't woken for several days. Thinking back on when he had gotten out of the hospital wing himself, Toshiro was very happy that he had left when he had. Ron went down every day after class to sit with Ginny, hoping and waiting for her to wake. Toshiro had luckily gotten out the day he went back into his body, as Madam Pomfrey wasn't able to find anything wrong with him.

Toshiro scowled, remembering his conversation with the teachers. They had all been very confused about how he had disappeared, what happened, how he had gotten back, and why Ginny had come back the next day. He could not, of course, tell them the truth, but he had already come up with an excuse and was determined to stick to it. He wasn't sure that they believed it, but he wasn't about to change his story. Not when the truth would have them running. Then again, that might be preferable. Classes had started back up three days ago, but they were still treating him like a little child that needed to be coddled.

To top it all off, Harry and Hermione wouldn't let him out of their sight. They followed him around wherever he went, making up excuses that they wanted to study with him - as if Potter would voluntarily study. Toshiro was just about ready to pull his hair out with frustration. He'd gotten an earful from Hyourinmaru, too. The dragon had kept him up late one night lecturing him until he was satisfied Toshiro had learned his lesson.

He had. He was more than a little ashamed that he had let his memories take control of him like that, and that it had taken his zanpakuto's stern words to pull him out of it. He kicked himself whenever he thought of it. He needed to go back to the Captain he was - and not let these _children_ affect him.

When Ron's voice grew louder and the other children in the common room started to pay attention, Toshiro had had enough. He stood from the windowsill and stalked out of the room, practically slamming the door behind him. The fat lady in the portrait tried to reprimand him, but he was already gone.

He found himself going up to the Astronomy Tower. The wind blew sharply, but he savored the cold. It reminded him of his inner world. He sat on the battlements with his feet over the air and closed his eyes.

When he had 'woken up' three days ago, Harry had seemed different. He was giving Toshiro weird looks like he was puzzling something over and seemed jumpy. He had asked a couple times if they had called his name, but none of them had. Ever since the Bludger incident earlier in the year his reiatsu had been developing and maturing. Toshiro knew this was because he had used healing kido on the boy many times. Harry's reiatsu was bound to change a little. Toshiro only hoped that it didn't go too far that he would start to attract Hollows.

The door to the roof opened, and Toshiro stiffened, feeling Harry's reiatsu signature approaching. What the hell? How had he found him? And _why_?

* * *

When Toshiro had left the common room, Harry debated whether or not to go after him - the boy obviously wanted some time to himself - but Harry had questions that he needed answered. So, he followed, and was a little surprised to find him on the roof of the Astronomy tower with nothing but their summer uniform on.

"You aren't going to jump, are you?" Harry asked, sitting next to Toshiro. The boy sighed a little and opened his eyes. They looked very blue, reflecting the sky as they were.

"Of course not," he huffed. "How'd you find me?"

Harry hesitated, tracing the cold stone below him with his finger. "I...You left tracks."

"Tracks?" Toshiro turned his piercing eyes on Harry, who cringed. He knew exactly how that sounded.

"You-You're going to think I'm crazy. I promise I'm not."

"Tell me what these tracks are and I'll judge for myself."

Harry was thrown off by his cold tone. Toshiro had been warming up over the course of the year, but it seemed like any progress they had made was gone. Harry swallowed, suddenly nervous. He couldn't do this. "W-How are you?" he fumbled, face reddening. He didn't see Toshiro's eyes narrow.

"I am fine."

"Good, good." Harry bobbed his head and scrambled up from the low stone wall, retreating towards the door. "I-I'll let you be, then." He turned and hurriedly fled down the stairs, Toshiro's eyes burning holes in his back.

* * *

 _"I think you frightened him,"_ Hyourinmaru said, no little amusement in his voice. Toshiro shrugged and turned away from the roof.

"Not my problem."

Hyourinmaru was silent for a while before saying, _"When I said not to let your emotions rule you, I didn't mean to not have emotions at all."_

Toshiro didn't answer, and thankfully Hyourinmaru didn't press him. When he felt that Harry was far enough away, he stood to leave.

* * *

He was once again the first student in the Great Hall for breakfast. Dumbledore was the only teacher, but they pretty much ignored each other as Toshiro poured himself a cup of tea and sat down with a book. He had decided to get back into reading about and researching the wizarding world - as that _was_ his original mission - since it had been a while since he'd gone to the library. Madam Pince was delighted that he came back and recommended several books for him. He was glad to have thought of enlarging the inside of his bag so that he could fit everything in it.

The Great Hall gradually filled with people and the noise level rose to uncomfortable heights. Toshiro was just putting more tea into a thermos when Hermione came up to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the doors. He was just able to avoid spilling the hot tea on himself and hissed angrily at her: "What are you doing?"

She didn't slow to respond. "Ginny's awake!"

And _my presence is required why?_

Ginny was indeed awake, as he discovered moments later when he was pulled into the hospital wing. She was sitting up in bed and talking with her brothers while Madam Pomfrey hovered in the background. Hermione pushed between the twins to get up to the side of her bed.

"Oh, Hitsugaya," Ginny said, sounding surprised. Toshiro straightened and finally screwed the lid to the thermos on. "I heard you were missing too. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he huffed. Why did everyone insist on asking that? "What about you?"

"Fine." There was an awkward silence before the twins burst out talking again. Toshiro turned angrily to Hermione.

"Why did you drag me out here?"

She flinched. "I-I thought you would like to know that she's awake."

Toshiro turned on his heel and stalked out, pulling his bag onto his shoulder. He wouldn't feel guilty about the fact that Hermione was looking like he'd just stabbed her, the grief on her face, or the way she was biting her lower lip. He would not care about the glare Harry was giving him, nor Madam Pomfrey's disapproving look. No, he would _not_ care about her feelings or any of the feelings of the children - humans - in this school. He was a _Shinigami_ , and he was on a mission.

Toshiro went to his first class, Potions, and sat in the corner, putting his head down on his arms.

Why then did he feel so guilty?


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter and Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

The next few months passed by in a blur, his time divided between schoolwork, Sigruna, and reading. Toshiro was determined to keep his distance from the trio, especially since he was now sure that his reiatsu was affecting Harry. The boy was becoming more attune to his fluctuations in reiatsu, and Toshiro worried that prolonged exposure to a Captain-class Shinigami would have lasting effects. He didn't want to do any more damage than was already done.

This was, of course, the excuse that he told himself whenever he felt guilt or loneliness or even regret. This was the lie that kept him going. He could _not_ afford to become attached to these humans; once he killed Voldemort he was to go home and never come back.

But even as he rejoiced this, his stomach twisted. Somehow during his time here, the humans had managed to worm their way under his skin and get him to care about them. Damn them.

He was in contact with Captain Unohana almost every day, both of them working to find a way to separate Riddle from Ginny, who was still unaware of his presence. She had not shown any signs of the seal breaking, which Toshiro was very grateful for. They had managed to come up with a couple ways that they might preform a soul rejection without damaging Ginny's soul, but were still working out the specifics. In the meantime Toshiro was still looking for Voldemort.

From what he'd gathered, the 'Dark Lord' had vanished the night Harry had somehow defeated him. Toshiro was hopeful that he had died but doubted it. Someone that powerful did not die because a _baby_ had defeated him. Truthfully, the more he heard the tale the more he doubted the power of the wizard. If a _baby_ \- wizarding child or not - could defeat you, you seriously needed to work on your training.

Sigruna had stopped venturing out of the Chamber since Riddle had stopped controlling her, and Toshiro was able to continue to bring her food. They had had a long talk about Riddle, and while he was able to clarify many things, he still had many questions. Whether or not they would be answered was still in the air.

The people she had Petrified were still like statues. The mandrakes needed to unfreeze them would be ready in a couple weeks, but until then they would stay in the hospital wing.

Classes continued like nothing had happened - no one told the students of the drama over winter break, and he was in no hurry to do so. He didn't need the publicity. In lieu of spending time with people - _Socializing,_ he had scoffed to Hyourinmaru on one of his daily denials - he had turned to books. In very little time he had leapt ahead in his wizarding education, a fact that the teachers were quick to notice. He had already had Professor McGonagall approach him about moving ahead a year, which he had vehemently declined. He did _not_ want this to turn out like the Academy. It was bad enough that he was being forced to attend school again, but he would not stand for the ridicule and stares that would inevitably come if he moved ahead.

His decision had nothing to do with the trio. Absolutely not.

* * *

Toshiro was first to their Transfiguration class after breakfast. He brought along a thermos of tea and sat in the front left, as usual. He pulled out a book to read while waiting for the rest of the class to come. He was a more than a little surprised when Hermione sat next to him. He shifted in his seat and attempted to ignore her, but she made no attempt to talk to him. That was strange. She usually never shut up. Even during the lesson, while they were attempting to transform quills into leather bookmarks, she was unusually quiet. It concerned him, to be quite honest.

After the lesson he attempted to leave but Hermione stuck with him. He kept glancing back at her as they walked to History, but she just kept walking. She again sat next to him during History but did not try to talk with him. To be fair, he might have been dozing off. Might.

Toshiro was headed to the Great Hall during lunch when she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the main flow. He gave her a questioning look, but she was determined to drag him somewhere.

That somewhere was apparently Myrtle's bathroom, where Ron and Harry were waiting. And resting on the floor between them was Riddle's diary.

Toshiro stared at it. "That was in my trunk," he said, pointing to the thing. Even from several feet away he could feel Riddle's awful reiatsu in it. It had soaked into the book, into every fibre woven through it, into the bindings and the paper and the ink name in the back. "What is it doing here?"

"I think the better question is what is it?"

Toshiro looked up at Ron, who was, for once, completely serious. "What do you mean?" Instead of answering, Hermione sat next to the book, flipped it open to a random page, and dripped a dot of ink onto it. The ink sunk into the page, disappearing completely. "It's a magic school," Toshiro said, intrigued. "Magic things are bound to happen."

"Not when there's someone in the book," Hermione said quietly. Toshiro did a double-take.

"Sorry - what?"

"Riddle drew us in and showed us what is Petrifying the students." Hermione set down her quill. "He was a student here at Hogwarts fifty years ago when the Chamber was first opened. He said that-"

Toshiro put up his hand and she stopped. He scoffed, feigning nonchalance. "A book cannot _talk_. What are you trying to pull?"

Hermione looked offended, but it was Ron who answered. "We aren't pulling anything. We're serious. What we want to know is why it was in your trunk."

Toshiro adopted his best glare and said, with as much cold fury as he could muster: "If you must know, I found it. How did you find it?" They didn't say anything, but Toshiro didn't miss the slight glance Ron and Hermione sent towards Harry. Toshiro turned to him. "How did you find it, Potter? Why were you going through my things?"

Harry hesitated, and Toshiro took a step forward. He was beyond furious. If they had also found his soul phone and candy...this was serious. He needed to make sure they _never_ messed with his things again. "How. Did. You. Find. It?"

"I was drawn to your trunk," Harry said quietly, not meeting anyone's eyes. "I-I don't know why."

Toshiro closed his eyes and cursed softly. So his separation from them hadn't halted the boy's progressing reiatsu. It seems it was taking root. "And so you just decided to go through my things?" He said this as calmly as he could manage. It would not do to hit the boy over the head with the very book they were talking about.

"No!" Toshiro raised an eyebrow. Harry wilted. "Yes. I mean, it was...it was _dark_."

"Dark," Toshiro repeated. Harry nodded.

"Dark. Kinda like...like opposite of the things around your wrists. Yours is...it's kinda like winter."

 _Crap,_ Toshiro thought. _He's progressed more than I thought. Also - he can_ see _reiatsu?!_ _Right. I need to take action._

Toshiro drew breath to speak, but Hermione beat him to the punch. "Hitsugaya, I don't know why you've been avoiding us, but we've decided it stops now." Toshiro blinked, startled. "We're going out to Hagrid's, and you're coming with us."

"Why?"

"Because you're our friend."

"No, why are you going to Hagrid?"

Hermione tapped the diary. "He said that Hagrid raised the creature. Who else would we get answers from?"

For once Toushiro couldn't fault their logic. Hagrid did have a documented propensity towards rearing odd and often dangerous creatures. It also gave him a chance to find out how much Harry knew, how much he had told Ron and Hermione, and find enough time to come up with a perfectly good excuse for what Harry was seeing.

"Fine."

* * *

They left for Hagrid's hut just before dinner. The walk down was awkward, with silence reigning. Toshiro walked behind the three, using the time to study Harry's reiatsu. Just like the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, it felt charged with electricity.

 _Wonderful,_ Toshiro thought. _Just how am I going to explain_ this _?_

Hagrid's windows were still lit, and Toshiro was relieved that they didn't have to come back after dinner. Curfew wasn't long after, and he didn't fancy being under an invisibility cloak with three children, much less _those_ three.

Harry knocked on the door, and Hagrid opened it, beaming when he saw who it was. "You four, eh? Come in, come in. I'll get some tea goin'."

"None for me, Hagrid, thank you," Toshiro said, closing the door behind him and leaning against it with crossed arms. Fang came up to him and sat on his feet, then smiled up at Toshiro when he tried to move.

"So, how are yeh doin'?" Hagrid asked once the kettle had been set on the stove and the trio had found spots to sit around the cabin. Hermione sat on the very edge of the giant bed, looking like she was going to get swallowed up by it. Ron was sitting on the counter next to the stove, his hand moving dangerously close to the fire. Harry was on one of the chairs, and Hagrid sat on the other, the wood creaking under his bulk.

"Good," Hermione replied. "We were just wondering...Other than Fluffy, did you - did you ever raise anything else?"

"'Course," Hagrid frowned. "I'm gamekeeper. I've raised lot's o' things."

"I mean, anything...bad?"

"Nothing is bad." Hagrid leaned forward in his chair. "It's the creature's upbringin' tha' matters."

"Sure, but-"

"Fifty years ago," Toshiro interrupted. His feet were starting to go numb, and Fang was showing no signs of moving. He bent down to try and shove Fang away, and missed Hagrid's face paling.

"How did yeh-"

"Those three," Toshiro said, waving a dismissive hand at the trio and giving up on moving Fang. "They meddle in everything."

Harry frowned over at him. "You know, we're trying to be nice to you. The least you could do is not insult us."

Toshiro didn't respond. Hagrid stood.

"Wha' do yeh want? Fifty years ago - why do yeh care abou' tha' time?"

"That's when the Chamber was first opened," Hermione said. "Professor Binns told us about it. Then we found a - a book talking about that time. It said you were expelled for raising the creature that killed the student that died. Is it true? What was the creature?"

Hagrid's face was steadily getting redder. "I don' want teh talk abou' this," he said. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be goin' teh dinner now."

"Ah, but Hagrid-"

Ron was interrupted by a knocking on the door. Hagrid looked up with relief. "Come in," he called.

Toshiro was frantically trying to shove the boarhound off his feet when the door behind him was pulled open and his support disappeared, sending him crashing down backwards. Luckily he managed to latch onto the door frame and catch himself before completely falling, but when he looked up, he saw an old face looking down at him with mixed expressions of worry, amusement, and puzzlement.

"Hello Headmaster," Toshiro said. Dumbledore blinked.

* * *

Once Toshiro righted himself, Dumbledore sent them back to the castle with orders to _stay in the tower_. They found out from the other Gryffindors that another student had been attacked - a girl from Hufflepuff.

They stood by the window where Toshiro was sitting. "You know," Hermione said slowly. "No one from Slytherin's been attacked. That _has_ to mean something."

"Yeah, the creature doesn't like green blood," Ron scoffed.

Harry shook his head. "Just because we've ruled out Malfoy doesn't mean someone else in Slytherin isn't guilty."

Toshiro rolled his eyes. They didn't have nearly enough clues to figure this out. Well, _they_ didn't. He knew that it was Sigruna, of course, but he wasn't about to - his eyes went wide, and the blood drained from his already pale face.

Sigruna.

But...but...

Toshiro bolted from the windowsill and sprinted up the stairs, gulping down a soul candy and ordering it to stay where it was before leaping out the window.

She had _promised_ not to leave the Chamber!

* * *

Ginny watched the white-haired boy leave the common room and disappear up the stairs. A flash of black and white flew by the window a minute later, and she released a soft breath, a plan forming in her mind. She was sitting in a chair by the fire, surrounded by some of her friends. One noticed her interest with the window.

"Hey, Ginny, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, waiting a moment before standing. "I just don't feel well; I'm gonna go up and lay down, all right? I'll see you in the morning." With that, she walked up the stairs. But instead of turning right into the girls' dorms, she headed left, up to the boys' side. She opened a door and walked in, relieved that everyone was occupied by the news of another attack.

Wait - why was she relieved by that?

Ginny shook her head to clear it and looked around. What was she doing in the _boys'_ dorms? She was just sitting downstairs; why'd she come up here? She walked back towards the door, but stopped when a strange buzzing entered her head. It was irritating at first, and she rubbed her ears, but then it changed, morphing into a voice that was calm and soothing, and all she wanted to do was listen to it...

Right. She was up here for the invisibility cloak.

Potter didn't have it well hidden, and she easily found it stuffed under the mattress of his bed. She smirked as she threw it around herself and strode down the stairs, weaving amongst the people crowded in the common room. When she reached the trio, who were standing near the open window, she tapped Weasley's shoulder. "Wha - oh, hey Ginny," he said, looking around. Ginny forced her lips into a smile.

"I just saw Hitsugaya leave the common room. Is everything all right?"

Weasley exchanged glanced with his friends then turned to face her. "I don't know. We were just talking and he left. Well, _ran_ , really. Looked like he was panicking."

"Panicking?" Ginny modified her features into concern. "Should we go after him, then? I mean, it's almost curfew, and if he doesn't get back soon..."

Weasley looked uncomfortable. "Well, yeah, but he can take care of himself, and I don't want to get caught out after hours-"

"That's all right." She pulled her hands from behind her back, revealing the invisibility cloak. "We can go under this. I've seen you use it; it works well, apparently."

Ron looked back at his friends again, who shrugged. The decision was up to him. The Granger girl was staring at Ginny, however, looking thoughtful. Ginny sincerely hoped she didn't question how she knew about the invisibility cloak. This was such a perfect opportunity, and she didn't want anything to go wrong.

"Are you feeling all right?" the bushy-haired girl asked. Ginny nodded. Luck was on her side tonight.

"Yeah, fine. Come on; I really think we should go."

Weasley put a hand out to take the cloak, but Granger stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Wait. Ginny, are you sure? You don't normally break rules like this. Are you sure you're prepared for what'll happen if we're caught?"

Ginny couldn't keep the annoyance from her face or tone. "Yeah, 'course I'm sure. Now come _on_ ; let's go see if Hitsugaya's all right."

Granger released Weasley, and the four went to the door, going through when they were sure no one was looking. The fat lady yelled at them that it was almost curfew, but they ignored her. Once they were out of her sight they huddled together and slipped on the invisibility cloak, then made their way down the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Potter whispered in her ear, no more than an exhalation of breath. In the back of her mind, Ginny knew that she was supposed to feel an attraction towards him, that she _used_ to, but there was just _no way_ she would think like that. Not now.

"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," she breathed back. "He told me that he likes to go there to spend time alone."

That was a lie, of course. She would never spend time with _whatever_ the boy was. There was something weird about him, and he wasn't human, that was for sure. Not after everything that'd happened, not after everything that she'd seen.

"He's never told us that," Granger said, sounding offended. Ginny rolled her eyes. Couldn't the girl just _shut up_?

They reached the bathroom in a few minutes, but it seemed like hours to her. She couldn't _stand_ being so close to another person - let alone three - for so long. It was an immense relief when they entered the room and took off the cloak, separating.

"Back again?"

Ginny groaned softly at the voice and turned to see Myrtle's ghost sitting in her toilet, only her upper body visible. She had her elbows on the seat and was resting her chin on her hands. She'd really hoped the girl wasn't here. "Go away," she hissed at the ghost, and missed the puzzled frown that Weasley gave her.

Myrtle laughed, a high, squeaky note that made Ginny want to rip out her vocal cords. It had been bad enough when she was alive, but _now_...now she was insufferable.

"Fine, I won't give you any help then, if that's what you want. Though _you_ don't need it." She glared at Ginny before disappearing down into her toilet. Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps _now_ she could-

"Are you sure you're all right?" Granger asked. Ginny clenched her hands and shoved them into her pockets to keep from punching the girl right in the mouth.

"Fine," she replied as sweetly as she could. Merlin, this was exhausting. "Maybe we should split up and search. He might be hiding in a corner somewhere."

Granger looked uncertain but moved away, as did Potter and Weasley. Luckily, they all went away from where she needed to go. Ginny took a deep breath to calm herself and surreptitiously moved towards the ring of sinks, towards the tiny snake engraved on one of the copper taps. She lightly ran a finger over it; it really was a beautiful system Salazar Slytherin had set up here. Then, after a quick glance behind her to make sure the three were still occupied, she hissed out a word in Parseltongue, and the tap spun, the sinks moving away from each other, creating a large hole in the middle.

Ginny backed away and adopted a surprised look as she cried out, and her startled exclamation drew the trio. They stood next to her, staring as the sinks lowered into the ground and at the giant black hole that dropped away into black nothingness.

"W-wha-what did you _do_?" Weasley sounded astonished, and a quick look up confirmed this fact. Ginny grimaced. He really did have a long nose, didn't he?

"There was a snake carved on the tap," she said, pitching her voice up an octave. "I-I'm not sure, but it twisted and it just did this!"

"Wow, good job in finding that," Potter said, patting her back. Ginny suppressed a shiver. "Come on, let's go."

"We can't go down there!"

They turned to face Granger, who grabbed the back of Potter's shirt. "You don't know what's down there! The creature - I mean, literally _anything_!"

"Granger, if Hitsugaya is down there, it can't be anything too bad, right?" Ginny gave her what she hoped was a convincing smile. She had always been good at getting people to do what she wanted, so it was not a surprise when Granger wilted, releasing Potter's shirt.

"We don't even know if he's down there...You said he liked to come here, not that he is here."

"Sure, but this is the most interesting thing that's happened all year!" Weasley exclaimed. Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny saw Potter frown and look away. She needed to investigate _that_ , then. "Come on, Hermione; if a small kid like him's fine down there, then so should we."

Ginny could see Granger was hesitating on the brink of caving in. She needed only a little shove. _Or a huge shove,_ Ginny thought, repressing a grin. "What if he's hurt?" she asked, and all eyes snapped to her. She lifted her chin, determined to play on Granger's feelings. Even if she failed, it would be immensely entertaining. "What if he's in pain and he needs help? He might need _us_. We can't leave and take that chance. We can't let him die because of us!"

Granger's eyes widened, and she looked towards the hole. "But...we can't even get down there. There's no rungs or anything to hold onto."

This time Ginny couldn't help but smirk. She'd bought it, hook, line, and sinker. "Levitation charm," she said, turning to Weasley. "I heard you can do it. You knocked a _troll_ out with his own club, didn't you?"

Weasley grinned and puffed out his chest. "Yes, I did. We'll do that, then. Hermione, why don't I lower you down first? You're the best at defensive spells."

Trust a man to fall to hubris.

"I'm better than you at everything," Granger joked, but stepped forward. Weasley pulled out his wand and flicked it. Granger's feet lifted from the ground, and she hovered above the pipe for a moment before lowering down. Potter was next, then it was Ginny's turn, and she lit up the tip of her wand so that she could see while in the pipe. Once she was on the ground, Granger performed the charm on Weasley and slowly brought him down. Then they were all standing in a large room lit with a blue light and a floor littered with little bones.

 _Rats,_ Ginny thought, kicking out and sending a narrow bone skittering away to bounce off the stone wall. The four gingerly picked their way across the room towards a tunnel, wands out and ready. The only sounds apart from their footsteps were the cracking of bones.

It took a few minutes, but eventually they reached the wall with the twin snakes carved into the stone, eyes set with glinting emeralds. The stones flashed in the moss' light, seeming as if the snakes were blinking.

But they weren't, of course. They were _carved_ snakes.

"What now?" Potter asked, going up to the wall and running a hand over the head of one of the snakes. "How do we get through? Is there a handle or some-"

Before he could even complete his sentence, the snakes parted as the door cracked open, sliding smoothly out of sight. And on the other side, staring at them with wide eyes and a startled, astonished look, was a certain white-haired boy that couldn't be human.

Toshiro Hitsugaya was frozen, unable to look away or even speak.

Behind the trio, Ginny grinned. This had gone even better than she had hoped.


	22. Chapter 22

**I recently went through both my Harry PotterXBleach stories, so if you find that any chapters are out of place, in the wrong story, or just somehow messed up, please tell me. Thank you.**

 **Disclaimer: All rights for Bleach and Harry Potter go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Toshiro's talk with Sigruna had gone well, all things considered. There was no blood shed, at least. But apparently Riddle had somehow controlled her _while_ locked inside Ginny. Great. Just great. Yet _another_ thing to worry about.

He had pondered staying overnight in the Chamber to keep an eye on the basilisk and stop her if she tried to leave, but she had vehemently denied that plan and insisted that he couldn't be there if she lost control again. She did, however, suggest that he seal all the exits with ice so that she could not leave. Toshiro agreed with this and was on his way to do so as he left the Chamber, hand extended and ready to push it open. He startled when it suddenly groaned, his fingers still inches away from the smooth stone.

Then it rolled out of sight, and he was faced with something he knew he would curse for years to come.

Four children. _Wizard_ children. Thus, they were staring right at him.

He was unable to move for several long moments, and if he had been anyone else, his mouth would be hanging open to express his shock. As it was, he found a word to perfectly illustrate how he felt about the situation.

"Shit."

As if this single word had broken the flood gates, the Chamber was suddenly filled with childrens' voices all exclaiming and asking questions. Toshiro couldn't begin to answer them, even if he could decipher one voice from another, and instead allowed himself to look over the children, confirming that they were really there, and that it wasn't just some nightmare that he would hopefully wake up from soon.

And when his gaze came to Ginny, they rested on her eyes. The girl was the only one silent, and was grinning at him. The grin was cold, calculating, and told Toshiro everything he needed to know. Toshiro maintained eye contact with her, communicating his desire to slice him from her soul with Hyourinmaru. Riddle didn't seemed fazed. If anything, his grin widened.

Oh, and who could forget his sword?

"H-Hitsugaya, why do you have a _sword_?"

Toshiro swung his gaze towards the red headed annoyance, noting the use of his last name. The boy must truly be terrified. Toshiro found himself conflicted. Should he be glad that the boy was using his last name or worried that he could be afraid enough to tell an adult? The other children were not a threat. After all, who would believe that Toshiro, the quiet little Japanese boy, was lugging around a sword longer than he was tall?

With a start Toshiro realized that he was zoning out while staring blankly at Ron. The boy was getting anxious and glancing nervously at his friends. Toshiro cleared his head with a sharp shake and answered the question. "It is mine," he answered simply. Perhaps he could get out of this with minimal damage until he could get back to his dorm and get the memory replacement device. "I believe last year I told you that I have been trained with it."

"Sure," Hermione said, voice raised considerably. Toshiro looked at her and was startled to find her eyes glistening with unshed tears. What was she upset about? "But you also said that you couldn't bring it onto castle grounds 'cause it's a _sword_!"

 _Yeah...guess I did say that. Shoot._

Toshiro opened his mouth and drew breath to say something, _anything_ , when Hermione's eyes locked on something behind him and she screamed. Everyone, including Toshiro and Riddle, jumped and turned just in time to see Sigruna's head rising up from one of the water channels. Her amber eyes were tightly shut, thankfully. Toshiro relaxed marginally, glad that she'd had the sense to close them. He didn't fancy having to do a konso in front of everyone. This was already going to be hard enough to explain.

Toshiro turned to explain to the children that she was not a threat, that she was a friend. He never got the chance, as he saw Riddle raise Ginny's wand, a determined look on her face. He realized what he was going to do before it even happened, and had enough time to stretch out his hand and send a wave of wandless magic combined with reiatsu at Ginny, knocking her off her feet. She fell backwards, the red light of a stunning spell arcing up and ricocheting off the ceiling.

Hermione once again screamed, and the children fell flat to the ground as the spell bounced once more, striking the water and sending up a great cloud of steam. Toshiro could hear the scraping of scales on the stone floor behind him, and turned with just enough time to see Sigruna rearing back, lips pulled back in a snarl, and her great yellow eyes flashing. He realized then just how terrifying she must appear to the children, with sharp teeth bared and dripping with water, forest green scales ragged and rippling over her body like great waves of the ocean. Her tail lashed behind her, striking the water and splattering the liquid all around the Chamber.

"Don't look at her eyes!" Toshiro shouted, hoping the children would have enough sense to run. With their level of training and skill, there was no way they could best a fully grown, angry basilisk. He turned and saw them huddled on the ground. Even Ginny was on her back, but she had raised herself up on her elbows and was gleefully watching everything happen. He cursed her silently and looked back at Sigruna just as she lunged forward, aiming at him with her poisonous fangs.

If he had been anyone else, if he had not been a Shinigami, if he had not trained almost all his life to hone his reflexes, her fangs would have pierced his flesh and sent her venom into his system, killing him. Even so, he barely had enough time to gather himself for a short shunpo to get him just out of the way and to the cowering children. He grabbed Ron's arm and pulled him to his feet then gave him a shove in the direction of the exit. "Go!" he shouted, doing the same with Harry then Hermione.

The children were practically paralyzed with confusion and fear, and Ron tripped over his own feet, falling to his hands and knees. Toshiro hissed in annoyance and raised his hand to send another bout of magic-infused reiatsu at them to push them away when Ginny screamed, a throat-tearing, horrible sound. All action in the Chamber froze as they all turned to Ginny, who was lying curled on the ground in the fetal position. The last shreds of her scream echoed in the suddenly silent Chamber as she drew in a sharp breath, her hands threading into her long, coppery hair, curling and pulling. Ron exclaimed and started forward when she whipped around, limbs flailing. Her back arced and she screamed again, arms spread wide and fingers digging into the stone.

Captain Unohana had insisted on all the Captains taking basic medical courses every year so that they could save someone's life if she could not get to them in time. Toshiro decided that this was one such situation. He rushed forward, taking only a moment to glance back and seeing Sigruna's eyes once more glowing a curious amber before focusing his attention on the thrashing girl on the ground. Though it looked like a seizure, he knew exactly what was going on. Unohana had warned that this might happen, that Riddle might attempt to break the seal fully and once more take over her body and mind. If he tore through the seal it would ruin Ginny mentally, and she would no longer be herself, even if Riddle was somehow extracted from her soul. Thus, Unohana had given Toshiro the go-ahead to remove the seal if it endangered the girl's life.

Toshiro's ears rang with the pitch and volume of Ginny's scream as he knelt next to her, Ron doing the same. The other two children stood awkwardly beside the thrashing girl, wrapped tightly in each other's arms. Sigruna had backed away, but her head had risen so that she could see over their heads.

"What's going on?" Ron demanded, hesitantly reaching out to touch his sister's shoulder. When her arm jolted and slapped his away, he drew back as if burnt. "W-What's happening?!"

Toshiro pulled the boy around to Ginny's head then pulled her onto his lap so that she didn't injure her head while flailing. She tried screaming again, but her throat was so torn by her sounds that it was ripped and blood flecked her lips. Ron went pale. Toshiro shook his shoulder to get his attention, and when his panic-filled eyes turned to his, he said, "Weasley, I know that you are frightened, but I need you to talk to her. She knows your voice. Talk to her, get her to focus on you, if you can. Just talk - about what doesn't matter. She just needs to hear your voice."

Ron's lips quivered, and tears rolled down his cheeks. "W-w-w..."

"Weasley!" Toshiro adopted the tone he used for unruly subordinates, and was rewarded with a startled blink. The boy's hands tightened around his sister's shoulders. "She needs to hear you. Talk!"

Without any more encouragement, Ron bent his head and started whispering to his sister, murmuring anything and everything that came into his head. He talked about the pranks the twins pulled on the family, the first time she'd tossed a garden gnome, the first time she rode a broom, Quidditch - everything. Ginny seemed to calm some, though her eyes were still closed. Toshiro hoped she was listening as he reached for her wrist to take her pulse.

 _Way too fast._ He grabbed her other wrist, knowing that he had to break the seal Unohana had placed in her soul. The reiatsu release points just happened to be the best place to put it. Closing his eyes, he extended his own reiatsu, easily slipping past the meager resistance Ginny put up. He searched her soul for the seal, Unohana's reiatsu, and Riddle's. He quickly found it, as Ginny's turbulent reiatsu was rippling through her in waves, trying desperately to quell Riddle's, which was leaking through into her body past - there! With the seal located, Toshiro focused on it, worming his way around the edges and trying to work it free while battling Riddle. The man's reiatsu was so dark and polluted that Toshiro felt as if he were suffocating, constricted and trapped by it. He was reluctant to release more of his own energy into Ginny, since wizards were obviously very receptive to reiatsu, as Harry was proving. So he ignored his own sickness and found the crack in the seal, through which Riddle was forcing his way through. With one well-placed tap, the seal gave way, and Riddle's reiatsu flooded through, almost overwhelming Toshiro before he could contain it. He felt Ginny gasp, body tensing, though she had thankfully stopped thrashing.

Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Toshiro's mind was suddenly under attack by Riddle, the man whispering dark and deadly things directly into his mind, and only Hyourinmaru allowed him to regroup, shaking him off and trapping him within a sphere of icy reiatsu. The dragon snarled, lending strength to Toshiro as the Captain withdrew, pulling the trapped Riddle with him. Then, with a sudden fiercely furious shove, Ginny's reiatsu exploded, sending his body sliding back. He was still reeling from the unexpected attack, and fell into the water channel, the freezing water flooding into his nose and mouth before he could react. The channel was not deep, however, and he stood, boosting himself back up and onto the stone, coughing and retching to get the water out of his lungs. It poured from him in amounts greater than he thought he could carry and splattered on the ground. The temperature was not a problem - his element _was_ ice, after all - it was the fact that it had flooded into him when he wasn't prepared and while he was still dazed from the sudden ejection. So he stayed on his hands and knees hacking up water until his throat was raw and he was exhausted.

 _"Calm, Master, breathe,"_ Hyourinmaru said, his worried voice breaking through the fog in Toshiro's mind. He sucked in a breath, the oxygen displacing the water still in his lungs and sending it trickling from between his pale lips. When he finally felt as if he could breathe again, he lifted his head and sank back into a crouch only to find the four children huddled together, a fifth figure, tall and slender, pointing a wand at them.

"What..." Toshiro rasped, lungs still burning and throat sore from all his coughing. "Who are...you?"

"Me?" The teenager - for he looked roughly sixteen - asked, pulling back his thin lips into a wolfish smile. "My name is Tom Riddle. Didn't you know? Thank you for removing me from the girl - I'd gotten all the energy I needed from her." He reached out with his foot and nudged Ginny's leg. The girl was unconscious - likely the explosion of her reiatsu drained her - and was half-lying on her brother. Ron was slowly stroking her hair, tears still running down his cheeks. Hermione sat next to Ron, hands shaking and looking terrified. Harry was sitting cross-legged on Ron's other side, looking for all the world like he was meditating.

Toshiro coughed again, his lungs twinging uncomfortably. He grimaced and cast his gaze about the ground around Ginny. He was sure he had trapped Riddle in a sphere of ice - and if he hadn't, Hyourinmaru would have finished the job. So what had -

"Looking for this?" Toshiro's eyes snapped up to Riddle and the cracked ball of ice. Toshiro could feel his reiatsu infused into the ice. A thin stream of what looked like red-black smoke was pouring from the crack, entering Riddle's body above his heart. Riddle's entire body wavered and Toshiro shook his head sharply, sure that he wasn't seeing right. He _couldn't_ be nothing more than a phantom, the edges of his body thin and whispy -

"You are seeing correctly," Riddle said, and Toshiro brought his bewildered gaze up to the teenager. "You _did_ managed to seal me in this - _thing_." His grip on the ice-ball tightened. "But her soul rejected the both of us and your process was interrupted. And in the time you were playing in the water, I was able to get his wand." He flicked the wand-tip at Harry, whose eyes were still closed. He was breathing slowly and deeply, and Toshiro was becoming more convinced that the boy _was_ meditating. But that couldn't be. He simply didn't have the patience for it.

"Okay, fine," Toshiro said, pushing himself to his feet, relieved when he didn't sway. "You're Riddle. But you can't be alive - not if you were stored in the diary and Weasley. What - and _who_ \- are you?"

Riddle released a soft breath and raised Harry's wand, tracing three words in the air:

TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE

Toshiro had enough time to mentally scoff at the middle name before he waved the wand once and the letters of his name rearranged themselves.

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

"You see?" he whispered, eyes lighting with amusement. "It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Hitsugaya - I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!"

Toshiro only listened to the first bit of this speech, reeling. _This_ was Voldemort? _This_ was the greatest dark wizard of all time? _This_ was the one he had orders to eliminate?

Riddle - or should he be called Voldemort? - had apparently taken his silence as a sort of stunned awe, and had continue to ramble, praising himself and cursing Muggles, wizards, witches, Dumbledore - anything and everything. He cut off abruptly when Toshiro drew his zanpakuto, the whisper of metal on the icy sheath ringing through the Chamber. Hyourinmaru rumbled with delight, readying himself for a fight.

"Let me make absolutely sure," Toshiro said, and his voice was deadly calm. Riddle look startled, and even Ron looked up in alarm. Harry still had his eyes closed and didn't seem aware of anything happening around him. "You are Lord Voldemort?"

"Yes," Riddle said, regaining some confidence - foolishly, of course. "You should bow before me, pledge your allegiance to the greatest wizard of all time!" Toshiro snorted, tightening his grip on the sword's hilt and falling into a defensive posture, preparing to spring forward and sever Riddle's head from his body.

"No, you're not."

The quiet voice cut through the tension in the air, and all in the Chamber, including Sigruna, turned to look at Harry. His eyes had opened, and Toshiro was startled to see that the irises had turned from green to a writhing yellow, almost like Kenpachi when his blood lust rose. "Potter..." Toshiro said uncertainly.

"Shut up!"

Toshiro straightened, holding his sword loosely. Even Hyourinmaru was stunned into silence. Harry turned to Riddle, glancing once at the ball of ice and the last bit of smoke that poured into Riddle. Even though all of his soul had been returned, Riddle's body wasn't solid.

"You are not the greatest wizard," Harry said, and Riddle tossed aside the icy ball to shatter on the stone.

"And who, pray tell, is greater than me?" Riddle snorted indignantly. "No wizard could-"

"Dumbledore!" Harry's shout rang about the Chamber, and for a moment utter silence reigned. Then Riddle spoke again, trembling with his anger.

"That old fool is no match for me. I will kill you here and prove that even your _beloved_ Headmaster can't save you. And this is only a meer sliver of my true power!"

Harry opened his mouth to say something else, but Toshiro cut him off. "Potter, calm down. Don't let your power spill over." He could sense Harry's reiatsu simmering just under his skin, itching to break forth and wreak havoc. "Riddle, what do you mean that's only a sliver of your true power?"

"That's only a part of him."

"Ginny!" Ron leaned over his sister, who had apparently woken and was attempting to sit up. "Are you okay? What happened? Why'd you-"

"Weasley, shut up and let her talk," Toshiro snapped, irritated with all the interruptions. "What do you mean, Weasley?"

Ginny groaned weakly, trying and failing to rise. Her arms shook with the effort of supporting her weight. When she spoke, her voice was rough and raspy, and a thin stream of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. But she seemed determined to get her information out. "I could feel it...when he was inside me." She fixed Toshiro with a startlingly fierce gaze. "I knew he was in me, you know. I don't...I don't know what was keeping him...suppressed, but it was...was there." As she spoke, more blood came from her mouth. "He's in...incomplete. His soul is not...fully there. Split..."

"Split?" Toshiro echoed, bewildered. "But you can't split your soul. It's impossible!"

 _"Perhaps not,"_ Hyourinmaru said, and Toshiro turned his attention inwards. _"Perhaps he is like us. I am a part of your soul."_

 _"Yes, but you are in my inner world."_

 _"I also have a physical body."_ The zanpakuto vibrated in his hands. Toshiro fell silent, taking in everything that'd been said. He made his decision.

"Whatever the case I need to take you out." He fell back into a defensive stance, raising his sword. Riddle's eyes hardened and he raised his wand. There was a moment of complete and utter silence, then Toshiro sprang forward.


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter and Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

Toshiro's eyes locked with Riddle's. He could see the courage in them – foolish courage, of course. There was no way Riddle could win this fight. He was going to kill Riddle, rid his head from his body and find all the other blasted pieces of this thing's soul and kill _them_ , too. He would soon finish this mission and go back to Soul Society and –

Something wrapped around his ankle, jerking him to a stop.

Toshiro braced his other foot on gathered reishi to keep himself in the air and twisted to look behind him. A thin yellow rope was coiled around his ankle, pulsing with jolts of muted electricity. And on the other end holding the rope, was an equally shocked-looking boy with glowing yellow eyes. "W-Wha…" Harry stuttered, looking at the yellow film covering his hand with wide eyes. "T-This is…what is it?"

Toshiro scowled and slashed his sword around, severing the weak rope. He lowered himself to the ground and studied the boy. "Shut it down. Now."

"B-But I don't even-"

"Shut it down _now_!"

Harry jumped back, waving his arm wildly about the air. The yellow strand formed again, lashing about with seemingly a mind of its own. Then, for whatever reason, the rope decided to attack Toshiro.

Said Shinigami _Captain_ simply cut through the rope. "Potter," he said through his teeth, "shut it down…now."

"I don't know how!"

Harry's eyes had lost the yellow glow, and it seemed whatever had possessed him to reach into his inner soul had loosened its hold on the boy. His power was out of control – what little there was of it. Toshiro could feel it crackling through the Chamber, waves of electricity.

 _How odd that his reiatsu would take the form of the scar of his head,_ Toshiro mused, fending off another attack of the rope. _Was that just a coincidence or did Voldemort's attack on Potter affect his reiatsu? And if so, how much?_

 _"This is getting annoying,"_ Hyourinmaru sighed. Toshiro could feel his restlessness and eagerness for a fight. _"Just kill Riddle already."_

 _"Agreed."_ The next time the rope came lashing down at him, Toshiro simply held up his hand, letting the rope wind around his hand. It didn't even hurt – Potter's power had shown itself too early to be effective, and besides, this power was meant for _dead_ creatures. Perhaps Toshiro should kill him. _Nah,_ he thought finally. _Too much paperwork._

Instead he allowed his own reiatsu to creep out from his hand, and the rope started freezing over where it touched his skin. The parts not frozen or covering Harry's hand started whipping about, trying to break the ice or break the contact. No such luck. Toshiro was a _Captain_ ; this was merely a weak, _living_ boy. The ice soon froze all of the rope and the yellow film over Harry's hand, though it didn't go any further. Toshiro was mad, but he didn't particularly feel like performing a konso at this moment.

"How did you…"

"Stop you?" Toshiro finished dryly, releasing the ice. It fell down to the stone floor with a _clunk_ , and Harry was forced to crouch or get pulled down. "Oh, please. You _just_ discovered this power. You have no more control over it than a newborn colt does over his legs. Now shut up and I'll talk after I've killed Riddle."

He turned back to the boy, soul fragment, teenager, killer, _thing_. Then he sighed.

Behind Riddle was Sigruna – with her eyes thankfully closed. Toshiro didn't know why, but at least none of the humans would be unfortunate enough to die when they looked her in the eyes.

"Thanks to that little…distraction," Riddle said, grinning. "I was able to regain control of the basilisk. Now you shall all die. Kill them, basilisk."

While he was talking, Toshiro saw Sigruna's head tilt oddly to the side, but then she turned and started slithering over to them. While one of the humans let out an annoyingly-piercing scream, Toshiro said, "I don't want to kill you. Step – uh, move aside."

Sigruna continued to move forward, still with her eyes closed. Her tongue flicked out to taste the air.

Then she moved.

* * *

Hermione wasn't sure when she screamed, but when the giant snake started moving towards them, she was pretty sure she let out a loud one. It was moving – straight at Toshiro!

Despite whatever Toshiro wasn't telling them, and despite the fact that she really, _really_ wanted to know why he was wearing pajamas, she didn't want him to die. So she found herself urging him to stab the snake with her sword. She would question him and Harry and Ginny later. There was _something_ going on here that she didn't know about, but they had bigger problems at the moment!

"Look out!" she yelled as the snake darted forward, and Toshiro stepped aside in a move that looked way too fast, but the snake didn't turn or attempt to smack him with its tail. It continued at a blinding pace right at the four standing a ways behind Toshiro. By some unspoken command, they scattered, going in all directions _like frightened mice_ , as Toshiro would say.

Hermione looked back to see the snake – basilisk, so why didn't it just open its eyes and kill them all? – coming straight for her. _Oh come on!_ she groaned silently. There were four of them, and the basilisk had to go for _her_?

 _Probably thinks your hair looks like one of those mice,_ Hermione's brain smirked at her.

 _Shut up!_ she screamed back at it.

As she ran she slipped of her bag from over her shoulder and gathered it in her hand. Well, if she was going to die, she might as well annoy the thing.

She turned and threw the bag and had time to think, _Hey, that was a really good shot!_ , before the small, black and white form of Toshiro appeared before her. His hair, though adding a few inches to his height, wasn't enough to block her view, and she was able to see her bag slide right into the basilisk's mouth.

"NO!"

Riddle's yell echoed throughout the Chamber as the basilisk bit down on Hermione's bag. Then the snake turned and opened its mouth, and everyone could see that one of its long fangs had pierced straight through the middle of her bag. It made an odd coughing sound and its tongue pushed the bag up and off its fang and down to the ground.

"NO!" Riddle screamed again. He was clutching his stomach as if in pain. "NO! You're under _my_ control! How did you do that? You _can't_ do that!"

The basilisk started hissing, and a familiar voice behind her made her jump. "It says that it never wanted to be under his control. At first it was because it didn't know that it was. But then Hitsugaya-" Harry sucked in a sharp breath, and Hermione looked back to see him rubbing his hand. The ice had apparently melted and the yellow stuff was gone. "Hitsugaya kept saying that it was attacking students, and it didn't remember attacking anyone, so he must be controlling it. Hitsugaya, is that-"

"It's true," he answered without turning around. He was watching the argument between the snake and teenager closely.

"You…you're a Parselmouth?"

"No," Toshiro snorted, and he flicked his sword around to replace it in its sheath in such a fluid motion that spoke of the countless times it had been done before. "I speak Draconic. Different language, same base language. But she's been teaching me Parseltongue."

"S-She?"

"The basilisk is a female." He paused. "And her name is Sigruna."

"You _named_ it?"

"I did not name her!" He glanced back, and the four now grouped behind him took an involuntary step back at the fury in his eyes. "She is her own being. Now watch. Something is happening with Riddle."

They looked, glad to not have his intense glare on them, and stared.

Riddle's body was glowing red, and small patchworks were appearing all over his body. He raised his hand up and towards the basilisk, who retreated back a pace. Hermione noticed Toshiro take a step forward, hand going to the sword above his right shoulder.

"You…were my friend," Riddle said, and they could all hear the strain in his voice. "How could you betray me…like this?"

The basilisk's head dropped, and it looked away. It made a low crooning noise.

"You disa…ppoint me," Riddle continued. He took a step forward, but his knee buckled and he fell. "Know that…for the rest of your…life."

Hermione glanced at Toshiro, expecting him to intervene, but he stood watching silently. Looking back at Riddle, she saw him struggle to his feet. She heard Ron mutter something in amazement, but then Riddle disintegrate in little flakes of glowing red. The flakes disappeared when they touched the floor.

Everyone was still and silent for a long moment, but then the basilisk moved forward, curling around the spot where Riddle died. It opened its mouth to emit a wailing, and Hermione didn't have to understand Parseltongue to know that she was grieving.

"Come," a soft voice said, and she felt a firm hand on her shoulder turning her away from the heartbroken basilisk. "Let us go."

The four followed Toshiro outside. Harry and Ron were supporting Ginny, who looked like she'd passed out again. Hermione felt as if she were in a daze. What had just happened? How had Riddle died? Her eyes fell on Toshiro's back. His pajamas were black with a white inner lining and a white cloth belt, a white cloak with a green lining and a strange symbol on the back. There was an alternating pattern along the bottom – dashes and dots. Even his footwear was odd – sandals and white socks. But her eyes were drawn to the sword on his back. It was long – long than him – with a star-shaped hilt. It had a deadly beauty to it, Hermione supposed. Then she thought about what he had done. His speed – the way he seemed to disappear from one spot to another without her seeing his movement, but she supposed that could be Apparition. But no one can Apparate on Hogwarts' grounds…

How did he freeze the…whatever Harry had done? For that matter, what had _Harry_ done? What was that yellow stuff that came from his hand? And his eyes…Hermione shuddered. She didn't ever want to see his eyes like that again. They were wild, feral, and didn't have Harry in them at all. That wasn't Harry.

What was going on?

Suddenly she realized Toshiro was talking. "…explain everything. Just don't leave here. I will seal the door so you will be safe if she does try to come in here. Just be quiet. I will be back soon." Then he turned and left, leaving them in a small room with a couch and a chair made of ice. They were surprisingly soft.

* * *

Captain Unohana glared down at Toshiro. He tried not to fidget.

She had been glaring at him for a long time, ever since he told her about what happened down in the Chamber. Toshiro wanted to yell that it wasn't _his_ fault. _He_ didn't ask the child to develop spiritual powers.

"Fine," she said finally, and Toshiro felt like falling back in relief. He didn't, of course. "We have something that can help." Then she turned and walked away, and Toshiro hesitated in the deserted corridor, wondering whether or not to follow. "Come on!"

Well, that solves one problem. Toshiro followed.

She led him into a storage room in the Squad 4 barracks. Unohana rummaged around in a box before pulling out something small and red. And round. Toshiro recognized it, but it was different than normal. And why would Squad _4_ have them?

"It's a new type that we are going to use for patients coming off the battlefield," she said, pulling the ends apart. "For those that fell unconscious battling. You have no idea how many people wake up while we are healing them and try to fight us." The ends of her mouth turned down. "Here. It'll work for your case."

"Thank you," Toshiro said, putting it in his pocket. "And you're sure he won't be able to get it off on his own?"

"I'm sure. Only reiatsu can unlock it. And since it seals the reiatsu of a person, your patient will not be able to remove it on his own. It is the same design as we use for prisoners, just in a smaller scale. Instead of around the neck, it goes around the wrist of the dominant arm."

"Right. I should go now." Toshiro started to turn, but her hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"The Head-Captain will want a full report on how this happened, you know."

Toshiro sighed. He hated the worry in her voice, but he shared the same concerns about what the Head-Captain would do when he found out about this. "I know. I'll deal with that when it comes to it."

She released him. "Very well. Good luck."

 _I'll need it,_ Toshiro thought as he left Soul Society. _I'll need it._

* * *

The four were still in the room where he had left them, thankfully. They were sitting on the ice furniture that he'd created, and looked up when the icy door disappeared in fragments of reiatsu. Standing, Harry was the first to approach him.

"Where did you go? What happened? What are you?"

What are you? Toshiro winced. Yes, this was not a talk he was looking forward to. But first…

"I will explain everything," he said, scanning the room. They all looked exhausted, and Ginny was still asleep. Or unconscious. He couldn't tell from here. "But not here. We'll take Weasley to the hospital wing and I will tell you all in the Tower. Potter, I need you to wear this."

Harry took one look at the red bracelet Toshiro held up and backed away. "No! I won't wear whatever that thing is! I don't even know who you are!"

Toshiro sighed. He knew they were going to resist, but this was really wearing on his patience. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just put it on."

"No!"

"Potter…"

"At least tell us what it is first." Everyone in the room looked to Hermione. "And who you are. And _what_ you are."

"I told you I'll tell you in the Tower," Toshiro practically growled. He didn't want to have this discussion now in the Chamber. Sigruna was still mourning Riddle's death, but she might come back here any time. And the trio didn't have enough sense to close their eyes while she was around.

"You have to!" Toshiro blinked at her tone. He didn't think she'd ever been this angry before. "You're obviously hiding stuff from us, and you expect us to just go along with you and trust you? We can't do that!"

 _"She has a point,"_ Hyourinmaru sighed. _"Just tell her the basics so we can get out of here."_

"Fine," Toshiro said, as much to his dragon as to the children. "I am a Shinigami. This-" He held up the bracelet. "-is a reiatsu-sealing bracelet. It will make sure that the power that you," he pointed to Harry, "displayed does not come back. You do not have enough control to contain it, so it will do the job for you."

There was a moment of stunned silence. Then,

"Shinigami?"

"Reat-what?"

"My power?"

Toshiro restrained himself from rolling his eyes and decided to try a different approach. "When you used the power, you felt out of control, yes?" Harry nodded. "You were scared of it, scared that you couldn't stop it?" Again the boy nodded. "This will ensure that you don't lose control again. It will contain your power until you learn how to control it in _safe_ settings."

Harry looked at the bracelet, and Toshiro knew he had him. Prey on fear. That always worked.

Just as Harry stepped forward and raised his hand to allow Toshiro to snap it on, Ron spoke. "Don't trust him."

Everyone looked towards the boy. Toshiro was startled to see the amount of animosity in his eyes. "If it'll help me," Harry started, but Ron shook his head.

"He's lying. Shinigami always lie."

Hyourinmaru snorted in surprise, and Toshiro nearly had the same reaction. "You know of us?"

Ron glared at him. "We have stories, of the horror that your kind bring. The kind of stories that Mum tells us to keep us from talking back or getting into trouble."

Well, that's just great.

"What kind of stories?" Toshiro asked.

"You kill wizards. When people meet you, they die. They disappear. You use monsters to kill people."

"No," Toshiro said, shaking his head. Harry and Hermione were backing away. His grip on the bracelet tightened. "We don't kill people. Shinigami translates to 'Death God'. We are what you would call Soul Reapers.

"The 'monsters' as you call them are Hollows. We protect the living humans _and_ the dead souls from them. We send on the dead souls. We do not harm living humans."

Ron didn't look convinced, but Harry was still looking at the bracelet. "And my…power? What was that?"

"Reiatsu. Most only get that power after they die. Some get it before they die. There've been a few examples throughout history."

Toshiro tilted his head, hearing the scrape of scales on stone. "Look, I promise that I'll explain everything to you after we leave. It's not safe in here. I just need you, Potter, to put this on. I am not lying; as I said, it will ensure that your power does not go out of control."

No one moved for several long moments, and Toshiro was becoming convinced that Harry would refuse, but then he stepped up before him despite Ron's warning yell. "Where?" he asked.

"Right wrist," Toshiro answered and snapped it in place. He supposed he was glad that Harry trusted him so easily, but he was annoyed at the same thing. This kid was going to die once he left the safety of the school. Wasn't he ever told not to trust strangers? And Toshiro was, essentially, a stranger to all of them. "Thank you."

Harry was studying the bracelet. "I didn't do it for you," he muttered. "I just don't want to hurt anyone. And you're right. I don't feel bad anymore."

"You're power is not bad," Toshiro hurried to tell him. He wanted the boy cautious of his power, not afraid of it. "You just can't control it yet."

"Yet?"

"Well, I can't just allow you to run around without training, now can I?" He ignored Ron's angry protest and was pleased that Harry nodded. Hermione looked neutral, and Ginny was still unconscious. "As I said, I will explain everything. But none of you can tell anyone about this. We are a secretive people, and I'm already going to have a hard enough time trying to convince them not to kill you as it is. If you tell anyone, they _will_ kill you, despite my arguments."

He was gratified to see them pale, though Ron looked even angrier, if possible. Perhaps it wasn't the best course of action to terrify them into submission. At least it was effective. Toshiro hoped that the Head-Captain would order their memories wiped, not execution. Besides, with the amount of dormant reiatsu that they have just by being wizards, he was pretty sure that he _couldn't_ wipe their memories. And as he said, he didn't want to kill them. Too much paperwork.

"Good," Toshiro sighed, turning to go. "Now, let's get Weasley up to the hospital wing and go back to the Tower."

As they passed the main Chamber, Toshiro noticed that Sigruna was gone. He was going to have a _lot_ of explaining to do. Joy.

The trio were talking amongst themselves as they walked, but he let a distance grow between them so they could have privacy. He knew that distance was more than just space, now.

"Why did you decide to tell us now?" Harry asked. Toshiro almost ignored him before realizing that he was being addressed.

"I didn't," he replied, not looking back or stopping. "I would prefer it if I could have finished my mission without you ever knowing, but the way events have played out has made that impossible." He sighed. "At least this happened while you are young. You have time to trust me."

"We're twelve!"

Toshiro almost – _almost_ – laughed at the indignant response. "Yes, you are," he responded dryly. "And when you're teenagers…help us all."


	24. Chapter 24

**Happy New Year! I hope you all have a wonderful 2016!**

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* * *

The walk back up to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom was surprisingly long. He had had the foresight to leave his zanpakuto in a back room of the Chamber protected by a cocoon of ice, but there was nothing he could do about his uniform. The golden trio had trouble carrying Ginny's limp body, but when he offered to carry her for them, Ron vehemently denied needing help. Toshiro expected this, considering that the wizarding child had grown up hearing about the 'big bad Shinigami that would come in the night with monsters and kill them all'.

So, that was a problem.

He'd found that it was extremely hard to change someone's mind once they have already made a decision or chosen to believe something. Especially if they've been told it their whole life. How do you change an idea that was put into someone's head since birth when you've just met them? Toshiro had his work cut out for him.

He was so distracted that when they left Myrtle's bathroom he didn't even think about the fact that it was past curfew. And so, when they turned a corner and ran almost straight into Professor McGonagall, he just walked past her with a polite, "Professor." Then her hand shot out and gripped his arm, pulling him to a stop, and he pulled it away with an irritated tug. "What? We have to get Weasley to the infirmary."

"At this hour?" McGonagall was not amused. At all. She probably didn't even believe him. "What are you doing out so late?"

Toshiro fumbled for an answer and turned just in time to see the trio and Ginny turn the corner. McGonagall looked up and gasped, rushing forward and flicking her wand to levitate Ginny. "Follow me!" she said and hurried off. Toshiro glanced at the children and saw them exchange embarrassed looks. Likely they hadn't even thought of levitating her. To be fair, he hadn't either. But then, he had a lot on his mind.

He thought about making a break for the Tower and just trying to convince McGonagall that she was hallucinating when she saw him, but then realized how utterly stupid that was and reluctantly made his way to the hospital wing. Once inside the large room, he saw Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall standing by a bed. Pomfrey was waving her wand over Ginny's body and looking at a parchment in her hand. McGonagall turned when she heard the door close.

"What happened?" she demanded, looking more furious than he'd ever seen her. "How did she get like this?"

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes, then Ron spoke. Toshiro tensed, expecting him to spill Toshiro's secret. "This did." He held up Hermione's bag.

Toshiro stared at it. He hadn't even _thought_ about bringing the diary. And he certainly hadn't thought Ron had the wherewithal to pick it up. Still, at least they now had a viable excuse.

"A bag?" McGonagall asked. "What does a bag have to do with anything?"

"I believe it's what's _in_ the bag that matters, Professor McGonagall."

Everyone jumped. For an old guy, Dumbledore could be very quiet when he wanted to. And fast, apparently.

Dumbledore took the bag from Ron and opened it, peering in before reaching in and delicately pulling Riddle's diary out. Where Sigruna's fang had pierced it was a large and ragged hole, and the whole thing was covered in tar-like black ink.

 _"Like blood,"_ Hyourinmaru noted.

Dumbledore studied the diary for a minute, turning it this way and that before sliding it into his pocket. "Now, would you all like to tell me what happened?"

There was another awkward silence, but this time Toshiro decided that he wouldn't let the trio tell the story. If there was any time that they were going to tell the Professors what he was, it was now, while everything was still fresh and horrible.

"She has been acting-" Toshiro started at the same time that Hermione said, "He was controlling her, sir."

They glanced at each other, and Toshiro could see that Hermione was going to back down, allow him to tell the story. "Go on, Miss Granger. Who was controlling her?"

Hermione could easily see the panic flare in his eyes then. There was absolutely no way he could have hidden that one. She gave him an apologetic shrug before continuing. As she spoke, Toshiro felt his heart racing and had to work to control his reiatsu. This was out of his hands. She was going to tell, and judging by Ron's response they would all turn on him.

"Riddle, sir."

As she continued to speak, Toshiro noticed Dumbledore's reaction. He stiffened, and his hand went into the sleeve of his robe where his wand was no doubt hidden. His muted reiatsu also flickered. Clearly the name meant something to him.

"Ginny told us that something was wrong with Hitsugaya, and we followed her down to the Chamber-"

"The Chamber?" McGonagall interrupted, quickly striding over. " _The_ Chamber?"

"Yes, Professor."

"But how did you-"

"I believe she was about to tell us," Dumbledore rumbled, effectively silencing McGonagall. The woman closed her mouth but her face was alarmingly pale. "Continue the tale, Miss Granger."

"Y-Yes sir," Hermione stuttered. "Um, we followed her to Myrtle's bathroom - you know, Moaning Myrtle on the third floor? Um, she went over to the sinks and did something - we weren't looking at them until she cried out - and all the sinks were separating and sinking, and there was this huge hole in the floor." She demonstrated this with her hands, bringing them down and away. "We went down the whole - I think it was a pipe, actually - and she led us to a door with some snakes and before we could do anything it opened and we saw Hitsugaya there, then there was a huge snake behind him - Riddle said it was a basilisk." Here McGonagall gasped and Pomfrey nodded with sudden realization. Dumbledore just folded his hands and nodded. Hermione continued. "It attacked Hitsugaya, but he got out of the way, then Ginny screamed, and we all looked at her, and she was on the ground just twisting and screaming-"

"It looked like she had a seizure," Toshiro offered. Hermione's voice was steadily rising and she was shaking. He supposed that everything that had happened might be traumatic.

Madam Pomfrey made a small sound, drawing everyone's attention to her. She moved her wand over Ginny's head and held it there, intently studying the parchment. Dumbledore cleared his throat. "And then what happened?"

Hermione hesitated, and in that brief lull of silence, Toshiro's panic renewed. _This_ was the part that could get him in the most trouble, the hardest part to explain. He silently begged, threatened, and pleaded her not to say it.

"Well, she was on the ground and Hitsugaya and Ron sat next to her and he put Ginny's head on Ron's lap and told him to talk to her, to let her hear his voice. It worked, at least, I think it did. She calmed for a bit, then she - I dunno - she just kinda thew Hitsugaya away and into the water."

"That would explain why you are soaking wet," McGonagall murmured. Toshiro nodded, but wasn't really paying attention. He was just relieved that Hermione hadn't said anything. He knew it was because Harry's new powers were similar to Toshiro's - at least their _source_ was - and she didn't want to hurt him.

"Then this...guy appeared next to us, and he said his name was Tom Riddle," Hermione continued. "He stole Harry's wand - did you ever get it back?" Harry nodded. He looked exhausted. "Anyway, he wrote his name in the air and switched them around to say 'I am Lord Voldemort', and that's when Hitsugaya attacked him, and Ginny said he wasn't all there, that his soul was split or something-"

"Split?" Dumbledore interrupted. "Are you sure that's what she said?"

"She said that he was inside her," Ron put in, fury clear in his voice. He had moved over to Ginny's bedside and was holding her hand. "She said that he was _incomplete_. Madam Pomfrey, is she going to be okay?"

"The tests have shown that she is not physically injured," the medi-witch said softly, now holding her wand over Ginny's heart. "I believe she just needs rest."

"What happened next?" Dumbledore asked. He clearly wanted to know more about Riddle. Hermione started, having been anxiously watching Madam Pomfrey work.

"What? Oh, uh, Riddle said that he was able to get control of the basilisk again and then it attacked, and I threw my bag at it, which had the diary in it, and the basilisk bit my bag and Riddle just kinda...disintegrated." She waved her hands and shrugged. "We left after that and came here."

Everyone was silent for a few minutes, pondering what was said. Then Dumbledore lifted his head and looked at Toshiro. "Miss Granger said that you were already in the Chamber when they arrived. What were you doing there and how did you get in?"

"Um, well I heard noises and left the common room and just followed the noises to Mrytle's bathroom. It was late, so I figured no one would be in there, and when I went in the sinks were separated so I just went down the hole." Toshiro shrugged, hoping this would work. "I was curious."

He was very glad when none of the trio protested this - for all they knew, actually, it could be the truth - and when Dumbledore nodded and looked away. "Go back to the Tower and get some rest. I will want to talk to you all in the morning, but for now I wish to discuss somethings with the other Professors. Have a good night."

They muttered good nights and tried to leave, but Madam Pomfrey called out and stopped him. "Mr. Hitsugaya, you stay." He turned, prepared to offer a solid argument, but she continued. "I don't know how long you've been soaked, but I want to make sure you don't have hypothermia. Sit there and put on that robe until I dry your clothes." She pointed at a bed, and Toshiro reluctantly went over, scoffing at the idea that he would get hypothermia. It just wasn't possible!

He closed the curtains around the bed and quickly stripped then put on the robe, folding his uniform on the table by the end of the bed. They'd better not burn it. As he did this, he could hear the Professors trying to get Ron to leave. He apparently did not want to leave his sister's side, but eventually Dumbledore just straight up ordered him to get out.

As soon as the door closed, McGonagall spoke in a soft whisper, but not soft enough to keep Toshiro from hearing. "Headmaster, what do you think of this? Do you think it could be true - a basilisk in the school? How could it have survived undetected?"

"I don't know," Dumbledore said, and his footsteps echoed towards the doors. "But right now I must fire-call Molly and Arthur Weasley. Come, we must tell the teachers all that has happened this night."

The doors once again creaked closed, then Madam Pomfrey's voice came from the other side of his curtains. "May I come in?"

"Yes," Toshiro sighed, doing his best not to sound whiny. She pulled back the curtains and set a tray on the end-table.

"Open."

He obliged, allowing her to stick a thermometer under his tongue. "Not a magical checkup?" he asked around the rod. She gave him a stern look.

"Don't talk. And no, not for this."

After a minute she pulled the thermometer out and glared down at it. "You're too cold. Here. I'll put a heating charm on your sheets." She flicked her wand, and the bed became suddenly warm. _Too_ warm.

"I'm naturally cold," Toshiro protested. "Besides, I'll warm up with a hot shower then go to bed. In the Tower," he added, hoping she'd get his hint. He really needed to get back and talk to the children. And get his sword from the Chamber. And get back into his gigai.

She did. But not in the way he hoped.

"Oh, no. You're staying here for observation." She put her hands on her hips. "If you're back to a normal temperature in the morning I'll let you go. But for tonight you're staying here."

He drew breath to complain but she made a sharp sound and he sighed. "Fine," he muttered.

She nodded and went to the end-table and picked up his uniform. "Japanese pajamas?" she asked. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Yes."

"Hm." She flicked her wand and they dried. "You can put these back on, but then go to sleep!"

"Yes, Ma'am," he sighed. If he just agreed with her she'd go away soon. Thankfully she said a quick good night and left. He pulled back on his uniform, glad for the comfortable familiarity, and peeked out the curtains. She had disappeared into her office, and the curtains around Ginny's bed were also closed. The other beds held Petrification victims. Toshiro sighed and swiftly shunpoed to the door, quickly and quietly easing them open just enough for him to slip through. He went to the Chamber first, which for some reason the Professors hadn't cordoned off, and grabbed his sword. He looked around for Sigruna and found her moping in one of the water channels. He knelt beside her head.

"Hey," he said, reaching out and gently stroking the scales above her eye. She looked up at him.

"I've ruined everything," she whispered dejectedly. "Now they're going to kill me."

"No they aren't," Toshiro lied. "It'll be fine. Everything'll work out. You'll see." In all honesty, he had expected them to have already killed her.

The thought brought tears to his eyes, and as he angrily brushed them away, he realized that he actually cared for her. He really did. She was kind and sweet, and - he didn't want her to die!

A soft tongue flicked against his cheek. "Don't cry," Sigruna whispered. "I've lived for a long time. It's okay."

"I can't believe you're trying to comfort _me_ ," Toshiro shakily laughed. "But I - I don't want you to die! Isn't there something we can do; some back way out or something?"

She shook her head, her scales scraping across the stone. "I've looked. I..." She trailed off, then reached a little out of the water and curled around him. "Thank you. You've been a good friend. Better than - than..."

"Shh," Toshiro whispered. He was afraid he couldn't speak any louder than that or he'd start bawling. This was so unlike him, this display of emotion, and yet somehow he didn't care. She was his friend, and this was likely the last time he would see her. "You too. You too. I don't want...don't want to lose you. I'm sorry, I...I should have protected you. I couldn't, and they got in, and...I'm sorry..."

"I shouldn't have let him control me," she rasped, and he felt a drop of something fall onto his shoulder. And he knew it wasn't water. "I couldn't...It was just so..."

 _"Master,"_ Hyourinmaru said. Toshiro didn't hear him.

"I'll stay with you," he whispered. "Until they come. I'll-"

 _"Master, I-"_

"No!" She reared back. "Don't ruin your life for me! Please, I don't - can't let you!"

"You'll be alone, and I won't-"

 _"Master,_ listen to me _!"_

"Hyourinmaru?" Toshiro reeled back, not expecting the sudden, ferocious roar to tear through his mind. _"What is it?"_

 _"I'm coming out."_

A moment later he had appeared next to them in his dragon form, shrunk to fit inside. Sigruna reared back and hissed, startled.

"This is Hyourinmaru," Toshiro said, putting a hand on his dragon's leg. "He's my zanpakuto."

"Your zan...oh." The tip of her tongue flicked out and brushed against the hilt of his sword. "Why have you come?"

"To say farewell." Hyourinmaru's head dipped briefly. "And to offer a solution."

"A solution?" Toshiro echoed, hope rising in his chest. Did he know of some way to save her, could they prevent her death? "Hyourinmaru, if you know something, say it!"

The dragon's crimson eyes blinked down at him. Even shrunken he could stand over Toshiro and his hair would not brush the bottom of his belly. "I can think of one way to perhaps preserve her life." Toshiro opened his mouth but Hyourinmaru shifted his wing. "Hold on. It _may_ preserve her life. I make no guarantees."

"Well, tell me! I know of no spells and we do not have enough time to search the library!" Toshiro took a step towards the dragon. "What is your solution?"

Hyourinmaru's tail curled around his master's feet. "I flash-freeze her to preserve her body and brain functions."

Utter silence. Utter, terrible silence.

"No," Toshiro said. "No, there's got to be something else. That's - no!"

"Master, I can think of no other way."

"But we have to!"

"I'll do it."

Toshiro whirled around to face the basilisk. "What? No! We'll think of something else! We will!"

"Hitsugaya, if your zanpakuto is part of you, then you know what he says is true." She pulled the rest of her body out of the water and he was standing in-between two large serpents. "I'll do it. If I don't then I'll die. This way I'll at least have a shot of survival."

"Sigruna..." Toshiro stared at her then dropped his gaze. Now that the initial shock had worn off, he could see the merits of the idea. And really, there was nothing else. But to _freeze_ her... "Can you get your ice cold enough fast enough?" he asked. Hyourinmaru nodded.

"I have much power. I can do it."

What else was there to do?

"Fine. Let's do it."

Sigruna let out a hissing breath, and Hyourinmaru backed away as she slithered forward to curl around him one last time. "Thank you for being there," she said, and he could feel her shaking. "I'll always remember you. Even if - if I don't ma-make it, know that I love you."

"And I love you." Never had he said that to anyone but his grandmother and his sister, and never had he meant it more. "I'll make a statue of you and it'll be the most beautiful statue ever created. I'll never forget you."

Sigruna squeezed gently then unwrapped to let him out. He backed away and tears were flowing down his cheeks and he couldn't care less. "I do have one request," she said, looking up at Hyourinmaru. "If I don't...make it and until you try to unfreeze me, keep me with you. I think...I think that'll help."

"Of course," Toshiro said. "I promise."

She nodded once then curled up in loops, one on top of the other, until she was a cylinder of flesh and scale ten feet tall. "I'll see you soon."

"Soon."

He took a shaky breath as Hyourinmaru stepped forward and stretched his wings around the serpent. He paused after getting situated, then nodded and reared back his head, taking a deep breath and blowing it out suddenly and forcefully. A wall of wind and cold slammed into Toshiro, and he barely kept his footing on the smooth stone. He lifted his arms to protect his head, but when the wind abruptly stopped he stumbled forward, having been leaning forward to keep his balance. When he recovered he looked up to see the dragon stepping away from Sigruna, who was now a solid block of ice glittering in the blue light of the moss.

He put his hand against the ice, glad to feel that, like all of his sculptures, his reiatsu protected it from melting or being alarmingly cold. He moved around to her head and saw that her eyes were closed, but a peaceful expression was on her face.

"There is still a chance of her surviving," Hyourinmaru rumbled comfortingly. He may not have had direct contact with her, but he knew just how much she meant to Toshiro.

He nodded and whispered, "I know."

After a moment more he slipped his wand from his tabi and gave it a quick flick. The ice shrank down to his desired size, but when he tried to pick it up he found that it was too heavy to lift. Another flick added a featherweight charm to it, so he let it rest on his hands. Sigruna had coiled into four loops. Each detail of her scales and face and body were perfectly preserved. It was her, and yet it wasn't her. Toshiro let out a long breath and slipped the band onto his left forearm where it fit just below his elbow.

"She will survive," he said, doing his best to get his voice even. "We'll see each other again soon."

"You will, master." Hyourinmaru disintegrated and reentered Toshiro's inner world. _"You will."_

He took another moment to look down at the ice before he could stand it no longer. He turned and fled from the Chamber which held so many memories. He laughed with Sigruna, ate with her, talked and talked, created ice sculptures, learned a new language, and so much more. And now he couldn't do that anymore. She might not survive because of him, because _he_ was _stupid_ enough not to sense the children coming.

As he left the Chamber, checking in all directions to look for anyone then dashing up to the Tower, his anger swelled. The children. He had become close to them, too. And they'd betrayed him. How _could_ they?

The common room was empty except for the trio when he arrived. They stood when he entered, bunching together in a protective stance. He barely looked at them before going up to the dorms and reentering his gigai. He slipped off the ice so that it would survive when he put his gigai on, then slipped it back on afterwards. It fit just the same. He took a deep breath, controlling his emotions and making sure no tears were gathering in his eyes. He had to be strong. For Sigruna.


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter and Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

The children were still standing huddled by the fire when he went down the stairs. He paused on the landing and leaned against the railing, bracing himself for what was about to come. Hyourinmaru rumbled comfortingly in his inner world.

 _"Everything will work out."_

 _"I hope so."_ He took a deep breath and went down the last of the stairs.

There was a long moment of silence in which they simply looked at each other. Toshiro took the time to study them and try to gauge their emotions.

Ron was, as expected, angry and perhaps confrontational. He was standing just in front of his friends, and his taped wand was in his hand. He stared at Toshiro with angy eyes, almost taunting him to attack. Toshiro ignored him. With the mood _he_ was in, he could happily kill all of them. They had caused everything that had happened.

Harry wasn't looking at him; instead he stared down at his bracelet. He ran his thumb over it, tracing its lines.

He couldn't get a good sense of Hermione's mood. She was standing next to Harry but she didn't look angry or anything like that. Just...disappointed.

Toshiro guessed that Ron had done his best to convince both of them that he was an evil person who wanted nothing more than to overrun the school with monsters and kill them all. Likely he'd shared some of his stories as 'proof', and had urged them to tell a teacher. Probably Dumbledore himself.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

Harry was, unsurprisingly, the first to speak. Toshiro turned his gaze to the boy, who still wasn't looking up. "My people are very secretive," he answered, going over to sit on his windowsill. If his posture was not aggressive then they would be less likely to believe that he was going to suddenly go around chopping peoples' heads off. Which was a good possibility. He felt the strong urge to fight. Where were Hollows when you needed them? "We have standing orders not to reveal ourselves to you. Unfortunately, somethings things...leak, and people get the wrong idea of who we are." He gave Ron a pointed look. "The truth is convoluted and warped by time and repetition. Since you apparently have stories telling of us, likely a wizard of long ago saw one of us and told anyone else he could find."

"Then how do you explain the monsters?" Ron took a tense step forward. "And what did you do to Harry?"

"Do to him?" Toshiro echoed. "I didn't _do_ anything to him; his power went out of control and I...oh."

"Oh? Oh what?" Ron snarled.

Toshiro was too occupied by his sudden realization to follow the train of thoughts that this was a side of Ron that he'd never seen before. "Earlier this year when you were injured by the Bludger during a Quidditch game," he said, nodding to Harry. "I would go down to the hospital wing and spend some time trying to heal you. I think that the presence of my power influenced yours and matured it faster than normal."

"Normal?" Harry asked. He put his hand over the reiatsu-constraining bracelet. "This was always going to happen?"

"No," Toshiro answered, picking out his next words carefully. "Your power and my power are similar but not the same. We call ours reiatsu, or 'Spiritual Pressure'. You simply label yours magic."

"And this is how you get people?" Ron took another step forward, wand noticeably rising. "You...change wizard's power into yours and steal it?"

The pent-up anger lodged in his stomach swelled and threatened to burst. Toshiro took a deep breath and did his best to contain his reiatsu. "No," he said through clenched teeth. "Our power is our own. We do not _steal_ others' power."

"But you kill them. You said so! Your _name_ means you kill people!"

 _"This boy has no regard for his safety,"_ Hyourinmaru noted as a freezing wind swept through the common room. The fire sputtered under the sudden onslaught, fighting to regain purchase.

Toshiro took another deep breath, taking the edge of the windowsill in a grip so tight that his knuckles whitened. "My name means _Soul_ Reaper," he growled, noticing and not caring that the children shivered. "I do not kill humans. I allow their souls to pass on."

"You are Death," Ron insisted. "You are responsible for the deaths of everyone on this planet!"

"No. We do not harm living humans."

"You do! You control the monsters and tell them to kill us! You told that _snake_ to kill us!"

The tight knot of anger burst, sending Toshiro to his feet as the wind took on a biting edge and the temperature plunged. Long, purposeful strides took him across the room and inches in front of Ron before the boy could take another breath of the freezing air. "How _dare_ you compare us to them! How _dare_ you say we are _anything_ like him! You do not know the _first thing_ about us!"

He could Hyourinmaru urging restraint but could feel his anger. He knew his inner world was suffering the onslaught of his emotions - the clouds gathering and splitting the skies with booming thunder and jagged bolts of lightning, tearing apart and letting loose a wave of unrelenting water. The wind roared and whipped around, sending the snow gathered on the icy ground whirling and biting.

He was large in his fury, in his righteous anger. These _children_ , these _living children_ , were comparing him to the traitors! They were saying that he was no better than _him_ , that he controlled the Hollows and ordered them to kill innocent people!

If only he was not in his gigai, he would tear through them with his zanpakuto, execute them for the most grave errors of insulting him and all of the Gotei 13. Their blood would soak the ground and fill the ditches and cracks in the stone. They would pay for killing Sigruna, who had done _nothing_ to them, who had wanted nothing more than to live in peace. They would-

The ring of ice around his arm tightened and burned.

Toshiro blinked, and it was if a curtain of furious ice suddenly cracked and melted away. His breath came out in puffs of cloud in the air, and as he stumbled away back to his windowsill, he saw the ice on the ground, spreading from where he had been standing just moments before.

He had their attention now. They were staring at him with wide, terrified eyes. He closed his own to soothe his inner world and contain his escaping reiatsu, only opening them when he was sure that he would not attack the children and when he could feel the air warm back to an uncomfortably hot temperature. The children had bunched together again, all their wands out and pointing uncertainly at him.

A pang of sadness shot through him.

"My apologizes, that was..." He trailed off, the usual words of a superior atoning to a subordinate dead in his mouth. These were not subordinates. These were children whom he'd spent almost two years learning alongside. "I..."

He sat heavily on the windowsill, staring at the floor and the receding film of ice. Remorse spread through him, heating his limbs and making him knot his fingers in the fabric of his clothes. What could he say? What would they say? What would _he_ say if the roles were reversed, if _he_ were the one faced with a strange, foreign being threatening and able to kill them all - _wanting_ to kill them all?

The room was suffocating. He wasn't able to breathe, and he knew he had to get out.

"I'm sorry," he said again, standing and unlatching the window. The warm air of approaching summer blew against his face. He took a step forward to stand on the very edge of the window. Then he paused.

"Her name was Sigruna. She was a basilisk. And she was my friend."

He jumped.

* * *

Hermione watched everything happen, watched and knew that Ron was saying all the _wrong_ things. Toshiro was sitting on the windowsill looking like his anger was barely contained. There was a new ring of ice around his arm, glittering in the flickering light of the dying fireplace. Hermione shivered, wondering where this cold wind had come from.

She didn't _think_ Toshiro was a bad person. He was dry, short tempered, and sarcastic, yes, but he was also polite. He was kind, even if she wasn't sure he saw that himself. He was smart, willing to help, and he was powerful.

He was also not human.

After dropping Ginny off at the hospital wing they had hurried back to the Tower and collapsed on the couch, utterly exhausted. But still Ron had found the energy to try to convince them that Toshiro was evil, that he was going to kill them all, and that all he wanted was to eat their souls. Until Harry had brought an abrupt stop to that conversation.

"I have the same power. Will _I_ want to eat your souls?"

Toshiro had appeared moments later, looking completely spent. He had trudged up to the dorms and reappeared a few moments later dressed in their regular uniform instead of the strange pajamas he'd had on before. Then he had moved to the window and everything went downhill.

"You do! You control the monsters and tell them to kill us! You told that _snake_ to kill us!"

What in that short bit had caused Toshiro to snap? She shivered, his words echoing around the common room even as he stared furiously up at Ron. His eyes were glowing white, and he was trembling with fury.

"How _dare_ you compare us to them! How _dare_ you say we are _anything_ like him! You do not know the _first thing_ about us!"

Him? Who was him?

Then Toshiro blinked, and it was like he was suddenly able to see again. He stumbled back to his windowsill and seemed to crumple down on it. "My apologizes, that was...I..." He didn't appear to be able to say anymore, so he stood and opened the window. "Her name was Sigruna. She was a basilisk. And she was my friend."

Hermione had enough time to wonder how a basilisk could be _anyone's_ friend before he jumped. She sucked in a sharp breath, running to the window and extending her wand, prepared to stop his fall when she saw nothing falling or on the ground. He had simply disappeared. She turned around and shrugged helplessly to her friends, unable to say anything. They each went to the window to see for themselves - though she knew Ron wouldn't even try to help him.

"He's gone."


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter and Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

The stars faded as the approaching dawn lit the eastern sky. A slight wind had picked up a few minutes ago, ruffling the top of the lake water into small waves that lapped at the shore.

Toshiro sat on a rock that jutted out into the water, watching everything and nothing, hearing all the sounds of the forest and yet the world was silent. It held its breath, prepared for the onslaught of ice and snow and fury that it had been subjected to just a few hours prior.

But now, all was calm. The ice and snow had melted and run off into the lake to join the water slowly making its way down the mouth of the stream that would wind its way down the mountain to the large lake by the castle.

His reiatsu was contained, his anger pummeled and examined. His energy was spent so he just sat there, listening to the wind, the water, the leaves, and watching the sun rise and the stars fade. A small water vole skittered on the bed of dead leaves not far away, watching him curiously and cautiously as it dipped its head and drank from the lake before rising and sprinting away. He watched it apathetically – it was just another life, a small life that would live and die and the world would go on without it. The world would care nothing for it and do nothing to help it even as it would depend and survive off the land.

The world was a cold, cruel place, full of empty darkness and scorching light.

Toshiro tipped his head back and watched as the upper rim of the sun cleared the ridge. He stood and stretched before silently slipping into an effortless shunpo. A line of marching sunlight marked the position of the sun, and his shadow darted amongst the trees and on the rolling earth as he moved towards the tall and foreboding castle. Its gray stone was a fortress, and although it was a castle it was not built to withstand attack. The wizards must have assumed their magical wards would hold off attacking armies. Foolish humans. The school would fall to any self-respecting army. Even just at a glance he could see several ways that he would attempt to get in.

He slipped in a window and made his way back to the hospital wing and settled back into his temporary bed and pretended to be asleep as Madam Pomfrey made her rounds a half-hour later. He only responded when she pulled back the curtains to his bed and peeked in.

"Have a good night?" she asked. Toshiro sat up and looked over at her.

"Yes," he lied flatly. She frowned but moved toward him, holding up a thermometer.

"Open up."

He obliged and allowed her to stick it under his tongue, then waited until she was satisfied and pulled it out. "Well, you're still a little cold but nothing that should harm you. You may go." She turned to leave but hesitated and looked back. "Weren't you wearing something else?"

Toshiro looked down and realized that he was wearing his school uniform. "I transfigured it," he said, going with the first thing that came into his head.

Madam Pomfrey didn't look convinced but hummed softly and shook her head. "Well, I'm sure Professor McGonagall is very happy to have such a good student such as yourself."

"I wouldn't know how she feels."

"No, you wouldn't." She paused, opened her mouth, then closed it. "Have a good day, Mr. Hitsugaya."

"And you, Madam Pomfrey." He gave her a small bow and left the hospital wing to hurry up to the Tower. He dreaded having to face the trio, but his bag was in the dorm and he needed it.

The Tower was still when he went in, as no one was up yet, so he quickly went up the stairs and into the dorm. Harry and Ron's bed-curtains were closed, and he had no desire to wake them so he silently grabbed his bag from where it lay under the bed and shouldered it, making his way down to the Great Hall to grab something quick to eat. He would take it to the library, perhaps – it was always empty this early in the morning.

He still had to give his report to the Head-Captain – which he also dreaded. The old man would not take the news well. Toshiro only hoped that his punishment would not be too harsh. He had no wish for his men to lose their captain, and given that Divisions 3, 5, and 9 still did not have captains, it was likely his would not get a new one for a long time.

The Great Hall, like he expected, was empty. He walked to the Gryffindor table and stood before a plate, which suddenly had a couple pieces of toast resting on the golden surface. He remembered reading that house elves prepared the food, but he wondered where they were and how they knew he was approaching the table. It _was_ a magic school, however, so they must have their ways.

He grabbed the toast and turned to head out, only to have a deep voice stop him in his tracks.

"Going so soon, Mr. Hitsugaya?"

Toshiro sighed softly and turned, giving the Headmaster a small bow. "Yes, sir." He did not need to say more – it had been a simple yes/no question, after all.

Dumbledore was sitting at his place at the head table, his golden plate filled with eggs and sausages and bacon, and his goblet rested by his left hand. His blue eyes were accented by his deep cerulean robes, and his long, white beard was neatly trimmed. "Why?"

Toshiro frowned at the question. "I feel no need to stay and this is all that I came for." He lifted the toast wrapped in a napkin for the Headmaster to see, then dropped his hand back down to his side. "If you'll excuse me."

He turned to leave, but again Dumbledore spoke. "What you did may have saved many lives. Know that, before you decide to harden your heart against all of us."

"What I did, sir?" Toshiro looked back at the old man, feeling a little skittish. _What does he know?_

Dumbledore didn't answer, and instead spun his wand in his long-fingered hands. Toshiro felt his eyes drawn to the wand, and could feel the power emanating from the device. It was powerful, that much he was very certain of. Worthy, no doubt, of the Headmaster of Hogwarts. And yet…it did not match Dumbledore. It felt aloof, almost uncaring.

"Yes," Dumbledore said, and Toshiro started. He had almost forgotten that he'd asked for clarification. "Without you there to calm it, it may have caused another death."

A cold trickle of apprehension made its way down his spine. How could he know? How did he _know_?

"I don't know what you mean, sir," he said, keeping his voice carefully controlled. He was hesitant to ask, very aware that at any moment another student or a teacher or a ghost could walk in while Dumbledore was saying something that could be _very_ hard to explain.

Dumbledore smiled gently, and Toshiro got the sudden feeling that he had planned this, that he knew this confrontation would come and had prepared for it. "You must be feeling well, if Madam Pomfrey has released you from her care."

Toshiro blinked. Of all the things he could have said, _that_ wasn't high on the list. "Yes, sir."

"That is good. But then, the cold has never been a concern of yours, has it?"

Not good, not good, not good. "Why do you say that, sir?"

Dumbledore blinked his twinkling blue eyes and lifted his goblet to his lips. "Pixies are devilish things, aren't they?"

 _What?_

Professor Snape strode in then, his dark cape billowing behind him like the great wings of a bat. "Ah, Severus, I was just going to go down to talk to you. Would you be so kind as to brew a fresh cauldron of anti-anxiety potions?"

"Of course sir," Snape said, not even giving Toshiro, who stood awkwardly in the doorway, a glance.

Toshiro turned and left, having the definite impression that Dumbledore enjoyed making cryptic remarks and watching people's bewildered expressions.

Or perhaps he _wanted_ people to underestimate him so that if he needed to fight he could easily overpower them.

Toshiro was walking to the library and turned a corner, running straight into someone. He stepped back, hands raised. "I apologize, I did not see…" He trailed off, looking straight at Hermione Granger.

Hermione stared back at him, her startled expression quickly falling into one of relief. "Oh good, Hitsugaya, I wanted to –"

"There is no need to say it," Toshiro interrupted her, raising one hand again. "I understand. No doubt Weasley has told you all the fairy tales about my people. If you choose to believe them I have no interest in trying to convince you otherwise. Have a good day."

He tried to walk past her, but she reached out and grabbed his arm. "Wait! I didn't – I don't want to – there's no _proof_!"

Toshiro looked pointedly down at her hand, which was still holding onto his arm, and she let him go with a quickly muttered apology. He faced her fully and crossed his arms, the wrapped toast now cold. "Proof of what?"

Hermione looked away as if the floor had become suddenly fascinating. "The, uh, Ron's stories. I mean, they're just _stories_. How do we know how they came about?"

"Like I said, it is likely that a wizard many years ago –"

"I know that!" She waved her arms, exasperated. "What I _mean_ is, until now there's been no proof that Shi-"

"Don't say it!" he interrupted harshly. She ducked her head.

"Sorry. Your…people. There's no proof that they do everything that Ron's stories say. Like, you don't e – _eat_ people's souls, do you?"

Toshiro didn't know whether to laugh or scoff. "I do not eat souls. I eat regular food. Which, as you might have noticed throughout this and the last year, I _do_ eat. That rumor likely started when the wizard saw a – creature devouring a soul. Over time that part has been lost and filled in by assuming we do. But I assure you, we have no desire to eat your soul."

"That's good." Hermione smiled, and Toshiro looked around again.

"Look, if you really want to have this discussion, why don't we go somewhere more private? You don't know who could be listening."

"Right."

"Follow me."

* * *

"No, no, no, yes, no."

"So you _do_ use wandless magic?"

"It isn't magic, but yes."

"Amazing!"

"I suppose."

Hermione looked over at Toshiro, who was leaning against a tree and staring out at the lake. He seemed much more peaceful and relaxed now than he did just a half-hour ago. The stressed and depressed look in his eyes had faded somewhat, although she sensed that they were simply hidden behind a thin veil. He was likely to fall back into them once the day started and she could not cheer him up.

But at least she could now.

Even after everything that had happened and all that she had learned, she did not believe Toshiro was a bad person – er, _Shinigami_. She could just _feel_ it, deep down. He meant them no harm, and though she had no doubt that he wanted to vent his frustration – which would likely be dangerous and life-threatening for everyone in a ten mile radius – he tried to keep himself aloof. Which, apparently, they had done a pretty good job of tearing down _those_ walls. When they had confronted him and Ron had said _everything_ wrong, she knew that it was like they were stabbing him over and over with white-hot knives. She got the feeling that he did not trust easily. So everything last night must have been pure torture.

Their proverbial knives twisted in his gut.

"Would you like to take a picture? It will last longer."

Hermione blushed, realizing too late that she must have been staring. "Uh, no, I'm good. I just wanted to say, um…I'm sorry."

There. She said it.

"For what?"

 _'For what?' What!_

"I know that I know very little about your people," she said, unable to look at him anymore. Instead she studied the grass and the individual blades that swayed in the wind. "But I get the feeling that trust's a big thing for you. And we – we broke that. It's just…I'm sorry that it happened."

He did not answer, and she was too much of a coward to look up and see his expression. Her fingers dug into the grass and damp earth.

The silence stretched out for a long time, long enough that she started to worry that something was wrong. So, she braved a glance up.

He was looking down at her, an odd expression on his face. It seemed a mixture of confusion and amusement, but she wondered if annoyance was thrown in there, too.

"I accept your apology," he said carefully. "But it is not you I would like one from."

Hermione drew breath to say something – witty and clever, she was sure – when the bell rang. "Oh no! We're going to be late for class!"

She pulled him up, ignoring his startled look, and started running towards the castle. Once he recovered his balance and hit his stride, he quickly outpaced her. "Don't worry," he said, amused. She turned her head to question him – or snap at him to run and not waste breath talking – when his arms went around her shoulders and there was a sound like ripping paper and a feeling that her body was being suddenly shoved out of place all at one. When she next blinked, she was standing outside the door to their DADA classroom. Hermione pushed Toshiro away and leaned against the wall, panting as if she'd just run a marathon.

"What the bloody hell was that?!"

Toshiro stood casually before her with his arms crossed. He looked faintly amused. "I could sense that no one was near enough to see us."

"That doesn't answer my question!" She lifted her head, still hearing the bell's tolls. _Five…it only took us two seconds to get here! How is that…_

"I'll explain later when we finish our conversation." He looked to the door. "We should get inside."

When they walked in, they took seats at the back. Hermione felt Toshiro stiffen beside her, and followed his gaze to see Ron and Harry looking back at them. Well, Harry was looking. Ron was positively glaring. She waved at them, to release nervous tension more than anything else, and Harry tentatively returned the wave. Ron continued to glare at Toshiro.

Really, from someone who had been threatened with a Shinigami coming eat his soul every time he got in trouble, Ron didn't seem to be scared of Toshiro. At all. It was like he had a personal vendetta against the boy.

Hermione didn't get a chance to follow this train of thought when Lockhart burst through the door and she blushed along with all the other girls in the class. Despite having him as a teacher through most of the year, she still thought he was amazing. After all the things he did…he deserved to have an easy job. But then, looking over at Toshiro's glower, she reconsidered. Lockhart had been horrible to him every class. How someone so talented and world-wise could be so mean to a student, she just didn't understand.

Lockhart reached the front of the room, turned, and smiled that wide, _sparkling_ smile. She heard Toshiro's soft groan just before most of the girls sighed. It really was amazing, that concerted exhalation of breath. Every single day. And Hermione was sad to say that she had been one of them.

"Now then," he said, glancing around the room. "As you all know, finals are coming up very soon. As preparation, I ask all of you to simply read my books thoroughly and carefully once more. They should contain all the information that you need."

A slight creaking caught her attention, and Hermione looked over to see Toshiro's hands curled about the edge of the desk, his knuckles white.

"Since that I have written so many wonderful books that I'm sure you all enjoy, I shall give you the entire class to read and study. I will be in my office if you need me." With that he swept up the stairs and closed the office door behind him.

There was a moment of silence before noise erupted.

Hermione grimaced and turned to Toshiro, who was glaring at the door to Lockhart's office. " _That's_ all he's going to give us to study?" she complained.

Toshiro glanced at her, his large eyes clearly annoyed. "Oh, don't worry. All the questions on the final are going to be about him. I'm sure you'll ace it."

Hermione flushed, recognizing the muttered statement for what it was. "He'll probably give you a special one telling you to describe his best qualities."

She was glad to see a smirk cross his features – it looked pained, but it was a smirk nonetheless. "I'm sure that is standardized."

She opened her mouth to respond when she noticed his eyes focus on something over her shoulder, and had only a moment to prepare before someone spoke.

"So, I saw you two came in together. Did you have fun?"

"Go away Seamus," Hermione sighed. She wasn't in the mood, and she _really_ didn't need rumors spreading on campus that she was dating Toshiro.

"I'm hurt," the boy replied in mock indignation, splaying one hand dramatically over his chest. "I'm really, really hurt. Can't you just take a question for what it is and not read something into it?"

"When it comes from you there's always a double meaning."

"Oh…" Dean came up behind Seamus and grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him away. "What are you doing, man?"

Hermione swore she heard Dean hiss, "Let's go. _He's_ coming."

 _He?_

"Hermione! How come you weren't at breakfast?"

Hermione sighed. Hopefully he wasn't here to start an argument. She turned to face Ron. "I didn't want to spend yet another morning watching you stuff your face and spray food everywhere."

"Harsh," Toshiro muttered behind her, and she smiled briefly before noticing the harsh look Ron turned on him.

"You were with her." The tone was accusing, but Toshiro simply leaned back in his chair and dropped his hands to his lap.

"Yes, I was."

Hermione couldn't help the giggle that rose out of her from seeing the look on Ron's face. He looked as if Toshiro had just thrown a pie in his face.

As if Toshiro would ever even _think_ of doing that.

The mental image of the calm and composed boy shoving a pie into Ron's face made her burst out laughing, and the three of them looked at her strangely. She took a moment to catch her breath before straightening and saying, "Look out for pies!"

Ron glanced at Harry who shrugged helplessly.

* * *

Hermione was acting very strangely.

He had to admit, she _had_ helped him get out of the depression that he knew he was sinking into, but he was surprised just how easily she was able to do it. Even Rangiku, who had known him for decades, wasn't able to cheer him up that quickly.

It had been nice to talk to her, as someone who knew what he was – even if she didn't fully understand it – and accept him. He didn't know what made her trust him, but he was glad for it. She gave him hope that perhaps he could convince Ron and Harry that he was not the monster they thought he was. Perhaps, in time.

When they had first entered the DADA classroom, Toshiro had been disappointed to see the pointed glares Ron was throwing at him. Harry had seemed more curious than anything else, but that boy was hard to read. He could have been thinking about marbles, for all he knew.

Then Lockhart had entered and it had taken all of his self-control not to freeze the bastard where he stood. Toshiro was relieved when he fled back to his office. The paintings were bad enough; he didn't need to look at the real thing all the time.

Which brought him back to his original point. Hermione was acting oddly. She seemed almost…jovial. Which didn't make sense, since she'd only started acting that way after talking to some other children.

Oh well. He'd never understand girls.

Harry and Ron approached, and Toshiro had stiffened, preparing to answer their accusations. It took a different turn when Hermione suddenly started laughing and yelled, "Look out for pies!"

Toshiro worried for her sanity.

He was going to ask her whether or not she should step outside when an ear-splitting, painfully high scream split the air and the entire class went silent, staring at the closed door of Lockhart's classroom.

Toshiro frowned, sensing that Lockhart's gaudy reiatsu had shifted and become taut – nervous. But if he concentrated, he could just sense about a dozen other, smaller and devilish reiatsus zooming around the small office. His eyes widened with realization just as the door slammed open and Lockhart came stumbling out, swatting little blue creatures away from him. He shrieked again, and Toshiro winced from the sheer pitch.

"Professor!" one girl in the front row cried out, rising to go help their spinning teacher. But then she stumbled back, rushing away from the stairs as other blue creatures flew out the open doorway.

"Pixies!" Hermione shouted. "Not again!"

"I guess they came back for revenge," Toshiro said dryly. He crossed his arms. "Can't say I blame them."

"We should help him!" Hermione started forward, drawing her wand, but Ron flung out his arm and stopped her.

"No, I'll do it!" He pulled out his taped wand and gave it a flick, bellowing out a command that was lost in the shrieks and laughs. Toshiro watched the gray beam shoot out and race towards the Professor and his pixie tormentors, aiming straight for one of the creatures –

It missed.

The beam hit a mirror on Lockhart's desk and ricocheted, striking Lockhart in the small of his back. The Professor jumped, then Toshiro's view was blocked by Hermione, who pushed down Ron's wand arm.

"What did you do?!"

"I…don't know," Ron replied, looking a bit lost. Hermione groaned, raising her own wand and shouted out a spell.

The pixies froze in midair, expressions a mixture of delight and shock. One glared at Hermione as it hovered just above Lockhart's head with a lock of his hair in its small hands. With another flick of her wand, Hermione banished the pixies, sending them flying out the window which she then closed.

"And that's why you're the brightest witch in our year," Ron said proudly, clapping Hermione on the back. "You did –"

"I hate you all!"

The giggling and laughter abruptly stopped as every student in the class turned to their Professor, who was still standing in the front of the room. His hands were on his hips and he was glaring at them. "You are all nitwits," he continued, and Toshiro saw Hermione's jaw drop.

"Professor?" she asked weakly, and he turned his furious gaze on her.

"You! You're the worst of all!" He did an impression of her, raising his hand and rising up on his toes. "Oh, oh, pick me, pick me! Urgh!"

"What did you _do_ to him?" Toshiro whispered in amazement to Ron, who'd apparently forgotten his anger with the Shinigami and shrugged helplessly.

"I have no idea."

"Professor, are you all right?" Another student in the class spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room.

"No, I'm not all right. Do you know how much it takes to cover everything up? Then, because of my 'accomplishments', I had to take a job teaching _children_!" He curled his fingers in the air when he said 'accomplishments'.

Toshiro started grinning. He didn't care that he was supposed to be the stern Captain of the 10th division – Lockhart was a fake! And he had _admitted_ it!

"What do you mean by that?" a girl asked.

Lockhart rolled his eyes – dramatically, of course. "I didn't do any of the things that I said I did. I stole them from others and wiped their memories!"

"You hit him with a truth spell!" Hermione suddenly realized, turning to Ron. "I didn't know you could do that."

"Neither did I." Ron looked at his broken wand in amazement. "Brilliant."

"Well, this has been very enlightening."

The students turned to the deep voice that suddenly emanated from the back of the classroom and froze. Dumbledore walked down the center of the aisle, and all eyes were fixed on him. "This will not do," he continued and put a hand on Lockhart's shoulder. "We cannot have a teacher who is a fake, now can we?"

He led Lockhart out of the classroom, but as he passed Toshiro he gave the Captain a tiny wink. If he had been anyone else, Toshiro's jaw would have fallen open. He _planned_ this? How?!

Then he remembered Dumbledore's comment in the Great Hall. _"Pixies are devilish things, aren't they?"_

What a wonderful Headmaster they had.

* * *

The whole school was buzzing with talk of Lockhart getting fired that night at dinner. The news had spread quickly, rivaling the speed of rumors in Seireitei. The mood was noticeably elated, and even Toshiro was drawn into the telling of the last DADA class. He kept his tale as short as possible – which amounted to three sentences – so the children got bored and wandered away. That suited him just fine.

"The curse continues," one of the Weasley twins said in an ominous tone, though he looked happy.

When Toshiro had all he could take of the festivities, he left the Great Hall to sit on the roof, making a quick stop to his dorm to retrieve his soul phone. He sat on the cool tile and stared up at the stars above, suddenly nervous. He couldn't put this off any longer. It was time to make his report. He had planned out what he was going to say, but that didn't make it any easier. He could only hope that the Head-Captain was in a good mood.

Taking a deep breath, Toshiro flipped it open and found the Head-Captain's number. He hesitated briefly before selecting it and holding the phone up to his ear. It rang once, twice, three times before a deep, familiar voice responded. Even over the tinny lines of the phone the Head-Captain's voice commanded respect. Toshiro found himself straightening his back as he sat on the edge of the roof.

 **"This is Head-Captain Yamamoto."**

 **"Head-Captain, this is Captain Hitsugaya. If you have a moment, I would like to give you my latest report."**

The old man's voice was thoughtful when he responded. **"You usually send it in as a file to your Vice-Captain. I assume I am correct when I say that something important has happened?"**

 **"Yes sir."** Toshiro took another deep breath. **"My report is two-fold. First, my mission to eliminate the dark wizard Voldemort has taken an unexpected turn. It seems that he has split his soul into parts. I do not know how or how many, but I destroyed one of these fragments last night."**

 **"That is troublesome. You understand that you must stay there until you fully eliminate your target?"**

 **"Yes sir. I understand."**

 **"And the other part of your report?"**

 **"Sir, the wizards are more receptive than we originally thought they would be."**

 **"How so?"**

 **"One of them has displayed significant Spiritual Powers."**

Silence.


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter and Bleach go to their respective owners.**

* * *

The stars clustered in the dark sky, beautiful dots of light trillions of miles away. Underneath that vast canvas sat a school in the mountains, home to young witches and wizards.

As the silence stretched on, Toshiro wondered if this would be the last time he would see those stars.

He didn't dare break the silence, and so sat on the edge of the cold tile roof staring up at the stars and waiting for the Head-Captain's decision.

 **"You know of our rule about revealing ourselves to the humans,"** the voice said. Toshiro nodded even though he couldn't see the movement.

 **"Yes, sir. But I only told them what I was** ** _after_** **he displayed powers."**

 **"Them?"**

Toshiro winced. **"Yes, sir. There are three that know about us. But the wizarding world apparently has stories about the Shinigami – and not good ones, either."**

Again there was a silence that stretched on unbearably long. He did not mind the cold – he enjoyed it – but he _needed_ to know what the Head-Captain's verdict was. A soft hoot caught his attention, and the scratch of talons on tile alerted him that an owl had landed on the roof. Then the owl moved forward, revealing Athena.

 _I am sorry that I have neglected you this year,_ Toshiro thought, stroking her feathers. He became suddenly aware of the band of ice around his arm. _I met someone. I don't think you'd like her. Hopefully you'll meet her soon and judge for yourself._

 **"I do not need another Kurosaki,"** the Head-Captain said suddenly and without any preamble.

 **"I know, sir. But this** ** _is_** **different. I didn't transfer any of my powers to him. His powers awakened."**

 **"Hm."** The Head-Captain seemed to be fond of dramatic pauses tonight. Toshiro tightened his grip on the edge of the roof. **"Who is the boy?"**

 **"Potter Harry."**

 **"He is the one the Prophecy speaks of, correct?"**

Toshiro blinked. **"Prophecy?"**

 **"We have much to discuss."**

* * *

Hours later, Toshiro closed his soul phone and once more looked up at the sky. The stars were fading as the eastern horizon lightened, signaling the oncoming dawn.

"Why me?" he groaned. Athena had long since flown off, so he was alone on the cold roof.

 _"This is his way of punishing you."_

"I know that," Toshiro sighed, taking a moment to sulk in silence before pushing himself to his feet. "Well, they don't have to know until we get off the train. I don't have to worry about it until then."

 _"What are you going to do about the Weasley boy?"_

Toshiro paused, one foot braced on reiatsu-thickened air. "Time," he said finally.

* * *

End of year exams seemed to come very quickly. Toshiro paid more attention to the tests this year, as he did not know how long he would be stationed in the world of the living. He hoped it wouldn't be too much longer.

Ron still wasn't talking to him, but he wasn't too worried about that. He was just one child, after all. Harry stayed with Ron, but he could tell that the boy wasn't fully convinced that the Shinigami was an evil being there to eat their souls. Hermione split her time between the boys and Toshiro. They studied together, and he found slight relief in knowing that not all humans were as unintelligent as some of the kids in Gryffindor House. Perhaps he should have switched to Ravenclaw after all.

The final Quidditch match of the year was between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Toshiro attended to keep an eye on Harry and make sure that the bracelet was sufficiently containing his powers. The last thing he needed was to have everyone in the school see the Boy-Who-Lived displaying strange magic. That would be a nightmare.

Gryffindor lost the game 170-80, securing the Slytherins for the House Cup.

The people who were petrified were given the cure and returned to school a week before they were to leave on the train. They didn't seem any worse for wear, albeit a little shocked that so much time had passed. He wondered how they would make up the schoolwork they had missed.

Then the night of the end of year feast came, and Toshiro slipped in the open doors, taking a seat at the end of the table. He sipped a glass of tea and listened to the conversations around him. At least the children weren't talking about the fact that Harry was a Parselmouth anymore. That news seemed to have long faded and finally died with Lockhart's expulsion.

At the sound of a spoon tapping a goblet, all chatter in the Great Hall died away, and everyone turned to face Dumbledore. As he spoke about the year, Toshiro remembered when the Headmaster had called him up to his office for a 'chat' two nights after he had been released from the infirmary.

* * *

 _Toshiro knocked reluctantly on the door to Dumbledore's office, entering when the old man called him in. The office looked just the same as the last time he had been there, cluttered full of random and strange objects that whirled and spun and clicked. The Headmaster waved him to the chair before the desk, and he sat on it, waiting patiently for the old man to speak._

 _"No one is going to be punished for what happened," Dumbledore said at last, his blue eyes twinkling. "But I am not going to reward anyone, either. You_ did _break school rules, even if what you did was for the benefit of the school."_

 _Toshiro nodded his thanks, though he wasn't particularly worried about being punished._

 _Dumbledore was silent for some time, long enough that Toshiro started to wonder if he'd fallen asleep. "Do you have any questions?" he asked suddenly. Toshiro shook his head. "Good, then I shall ask a few of my own. You don't mind, do you?"_

 _"No, sir."_

 _"Good. The band around your arm – what is it made of?"_

 _Toshiro looked down at it. "Ice, sir."_

 _"And you cast an everlasting charm on it? Very clever indeed." Dumbledore smiled and held out a bowl. "Lemon drop?"_

 _"No thank you."_

 _Dumbledore set it down and popped one in his mouth. "We have not been able to open the Chamber. It seems to be protected by many powerful spells. This leads me to wonder how you four got in."_

 _Toshiro shrugged. "I don't know, sir."_

 _"You don't know how you got in?"_

 _"I don't know why we got in and you can't."_

 _"Hm." Dumbledore shifted some papers on his desk. "The basilisk – you say that it died?"_

 _"Yes, sir."_ Essentially, _Toshiro thought._

 _"Very good. If there is no further danger from the Chamber, then we shall leave it in peace. You seem to like your peace."_

 _"Sir?"_

 _Dumbledore smiled. "Like I said, do not condemn all witches and wizards for whatever grievance one might have given you. Trouble is brewing, Mr. Hitsugaya. We will need all wands to fend off the storm. Now, I believe you have finals soon. You should hurry and study."_

 _"Yes, sir." Toshiro stood, bowed slightly, and left. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and leaned against the cool wall next to the statue of the gargoyle. He looked at its carved stone eyes and said, "You're probably the only one in the world who understands the Headmaster."_

 _He sighed and pushed off the wall to head back to the common room when he heard the creaking of stone behind him. He turned and saw the gargoyle uncurling from its post, jumping lightly down, and padding softly up to him. It paused for a moment, its cold eyes staring into his, then flicking down to the band of ice around his arm. Then, with a sudden, lurching motion, it rose up onto its back legs, put its forepaws on his shoulders, and its chin on the top of his head. Toshiro stood motionless, wondering if this was a hug or if the statue was going to try and eat him before it backed down and returned to its post, resuming its position as if it had never moved._

 _Toshiro stepped forward and put his hand on its arching paw. "Thank you," he said, and walked away._

* * *

"I have several final announcements," Dumbledore said, still talking. "First, I am happy to welcome back Hagrid, who has been cleared of all charges." The school clapped politely for the giant man, who was sitting at the head table in his usual spot. Hagrid beamed at them all, though he looked relieved when Dumbledore started talking again.

"Next, as you can all tell by the colors, I would like to congratulate Slytherin on winning the House Cup." The Slytherins stood and cheered loudly while Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff clapped quietly, and Gryffindor sat in moody silence. Toshiro rolled his eyes.

 _Whoever thought that dividing the school into Houses was a good idea should be punished,_ he thought. _Nothing good has come of it._

"Finally, Professor Lockhart has been permanently relieved of his post." This time the whole school, and a few of the teachers cheered. Toshiro joined in, though he simply clapped, as befitting a Captain.

"And now, eat!"

* * *

The next day was chaotic, with people shouting and rushing to pack, accusing others of taking their things, and excitedly talking about their summer break. As Toshiro passed the trio, he heard Harry saying something about a Dobby and a sock.

He went up to the owl tower and called to Athena, who swooped down and landed on his shoulder. She had grown a little over the year, but not much. He whispered to her as he walked back to the common room.

"We're not going home for the summer. My mission has been extended to babysitting." Athena chirped softly. "Sorry, I don't know what you're saying."

The train ride was long and uncomfortable. He rode in one of the open cars that had tables lining the walls instead of compartments. He put his trunk and owl cage into his bag, which also held some books and his zanpakuto. He had exited his gigai in the Tower when he was alone and put it into his trunk. It was amusing to see the children's strange looks at his uniform, though he was happy that they didn't notice that he was technically a solid spirit. Athena stayed on the table, glaring and chirping angrily at anyone who tried to sit across from Toshiro.

He spent most of the ride reading, and was disappointed when the train slowed to a stop, the piercing whistle signaling their arrival at the station. He got up and opened a window. "Follow me from the air," he whispered, and Athena launched into the sky. He then turned, picked up his bag, took a deep breath, and left the train to go inform the children of his assignment.

He found them in a small group beyond the barrier, amongst the muggles. Harry was giving Ron and Hermione each a sheet of paper as he approached. Hermione was the first to notice his arrival. "Hitsugaya!"

Harry nodded a greeting, but Ron simply looked away. _Well, that's an improvement. He's not accusing me of trying to eat them._

"Potter, Granger, Weasley." He nodded to them. "I believe I told you that I am here on a mission to eliminate Voldemort?"

They winced at the name but nodded.

"Good. I should inform you, then, that my mission has been expanded. Since you-" He nodded to Harry, "have developed powers, I am to accompany you during the summer and make sure you do not lose control of them."

As expected, Harry did not like this idea. "Doesn't this thing control them?" He lifted his arm, which had the bracelet.

"No. It restrains them. But if something happens to it or it stops working, then I need to be there." He decided against telling them the rest of his orders on the subject, seeing as they would probably panic. "Look, there is nothing you can do about it, and I cannot disobey. Your family will not be able to see me, so you don't have to worry about them." He held up a hand to stop their questions. "From all that you've told me of them, they are as muggle as muggles can get."

Harry glared at him before sighing. "I can't convince you not to follow me?"

"No. I have strict orders."

"Fine," Harry groaned. "Look, just don't get me in trouble, all right?"

"I have no intention of it."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Great. See you guys." He waved to Ron and Hermione and turned, lugging his trolley. Toshiro turned to the remaining children.

"I promise you, I have no intention of consuming his soul," he said, mostly to Ron.

"Don't hurt him," the boy said quietly. Toshiro studied him for a moment.

"I will not. I give you my word."

Ron nodded and Hermione stepped forward to hug him. "I'm going to miss you!"

Toshiro forced himself to pat her back. "Yes, that is – okay." He pried her arms off him and stepped back. "Here, if you need to get ahold of me." He handed them each a paper with the number for his soul phone on it. He looked Ron, who looked surprised, straight in the eye. "I am trusting you. I know you don't believe it now, but the stories you were told are not true. With time you shall see that. Good bye. I will see you in September."

He turned on his heel and walked briskly away, following the faint trail of Harry's reiatsu. Even with a restrainer on, it was impossible to completely mask it. He saw the boy getting into a blue car with a very large man and boy and a very thin woman.

 _So these are the Dursleys._ He followed the car from far above. Athena met him there, and he let her land on his shoulder. "We're following Potter home," he said to her. "I don't like it, but I have orders."

She chirped.

"I still don't understand you, but that's fine. You'll be my only friend while I'm there. Not that I had many at Hogwarts." He paused to shunpo forward. "Sorry. You'd better get used to that."

Athena bit his ear.

"Hey! Fine, I'll give you warning next time. Just don't do that!" Athena resettled her wings.

He watched the car wind its way through London traffic and sighed. "I know he ordered me to do this because it's my fault he developed powers, but I'm a Captain! There _has_ to be something more productive for me to do."

Deciding that he could just follow the boy's spiritual ribbon, he landed on the roof of an ornate building to wait. "Peace is so boring." He watched a human wearing a red uniform and a large, shaggy black hat march back and forth. People were gathered not far away, taking pictures of him. "What are they doing?"

He stood and told Athena, "You'd better get off now. I don't think the humans would take kindly to seeing you floating in midair."

She chirped and took off. Toshiro jumped down to the ground. He watched the human in red pace. "Well, as long as I'm here, I might as well look around." He turned and shunpoed off.

* * *

From across the street, a tall figure wearing muggle clothes watched a small boy with white hair jump from the roof, land lightly on the ground, and disappear moments later.

"Now, what are _you_?" he murmured softly. "Little boy, what secrets do you hold?" He turned and vanished amongst the crowd of people.

* * *

 **Fin**

 **Whew! Finally the end! This has been a long story, and I am going to continue it in Year 3: The End of the Light.**

 **I had so much fun writing this, and I hope you all had fun reading it. I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed. And, to everyone who has read and kept with the story for so long, thank you. I hope to see you in the next story. You have all been wonderful, and I am grateful that so many people have read it.**

 **I'll see you next time!**


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